Walking Tightropes
by kimiko888
Summary: All I ever wanted was someone to remind me that I was never heartbroken in the first place.
1. Breaking Up

**Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha**

**Okay, so I know I shouldn't be writing another story with so many unfinished still out there, but I'm almost done with Sk8 4ev3r so I figured I can write this story. Besides, this story is a jumble of oneshots and other stories I wanted to publish, but I found a way to sort of combine them all to satisfy myself. So, here it is, the first chapter of my newest story, Walking Tightropes.**

**And Hanmajoerin did another kick ass job on editing again!**

**Walking Tightropes**

**Chapter 1: Breaking Up**

_You're up so high, supposed to be balancing on one tiny little string, and if you do fall the net is supposed to catch you. It's like love, but I'm afraid of falling in love; I'm just afraid the net won't be there to catch my fall. It's happened before._

-x-

Before this story unfolds, I would like to point this out: you're not a slut, if you can't commit to a relationship. Honestly, just because I'm not spitting out the words 'I love you' doesn't mean I'm incapable of love or just looking for a one night stand. It simply means I _don't _settle down. Big deal. I shouldn't be grouped with the school sluts just because I have a lot of boyfriends and don't commit to the relationship. It's not like I'm hiking up my skirt or wearing skin tight clothes or giving guys come hither looks. In fact, my year round 'uniform' is jeans and a t-shirt. And I only go out with guys I know, not jump every guy that walks through the door. I just… don't settle down.

And there are a number of good reasons why someone may choose not to settle down. One, they could be young—the tender age of 17 to be specific—and it's just too early to decide whether or not you want to spend your entire life with someone. Maybe a person has trust issues or their family is screwed up and they want to keep everyone at arms' length. Maybe they're fighting depression and they don't want to drag you down with them. They could have had their heart broken before, been sexually abused, cut themselves, have an STD, an embarrassing secret. _Maybe _they're in love with a guy who is already dating some girl for three years so you date around to try and fill the void left there but it doesn't work so you never really fall in love. You know, hypothetically, that is.

Anyways, the point of all this is to explain that I'm _not _a slut. In fact, I've been dating Hojo for six months, so you can take _that _to the bank!

At least, I _was_ dating Hojo.

-x-

"I love you."

I nearly choked on air due to the sharp intake I had and it took me a while to control my coughing before I was actually able to speak. "_What?"_

"I love you, Kagome." Hojo repeated, looking at me with shimmering eyes. Shit.

I had been hoping that Hojo was just making a joke and he would just smile and punch me in my shoulder and we could continue on our way to the Ferris wheel. Of course, Hojo decided to remain dead serious.

"I love you, Kagome." He said again, as if I didn't hear it the first two times. Before I could even react, he grabbed my hands and cradled them in his own. "I've loved you ever since I first laid eyes on you in sixth grade, and when you finally agreed to go out with me… God, I felt like the luckiest man on earth. And now we've been dating for six months and I think its okay for me to just tell you… I love you." Gah! Would he _stop _saying it? "I love you… _so, _so much."

God, damn it all to hell! Of course he had to say it. _Of course! _Yes, you three little words from the devil, come and rain on my fucking parade! Ruin the one thing I thought was finally working for me by making it a _serious _relationship. Love, you lousy sonuvabitch! Curse me with your unwanted presence! Curse me!

"Kagome?" Hojo asked, squeezing my hands a tad bit and giving me a worried look. I guess I was quiet for too long. "So what do you say?"

"To what?"

"To…" His brows furrowed together. "I, um… I just told you I _loved _you. Do… do you have anything you might want to say to me?"

Oh. He was expecting _me _to _repeat_ the words.

"Well, Hojo, that is really, _really _sweet, but… I, uh… I don't love you?" I offered, testing his reaction to the words. He looked confused.

He laughed a bit, not believing it. "What?"

"I, err… I _don't _love you." I looked in his eyes, seeing if he understood what I was saying. "You may love me but the feeling isn't… mutual. Do you understand?"

Over my years of dating I have realized that there is no such thing as a "good" break-up, especially in my case. There is also no way to cushion the break-up blow either. All those sayings, "It's not you, it's me", "You're a great guy, but…", and "We can still be friends"—_especially _that one—never work. It's best to just lay down the facts and get it over with. Beating around the bush only makes it worse.

"How… how can you not love me?"

Do I really have to explain?

"Well, I just—"

"Of course you love me," Hojo cut me off, laughing as if I were joking around. "You have to love me. What else have we been doing all this time?"

"Having fun?" That was my plan at least.

Please note the fact that we are at the _amusement park _for our date. And all dates prior to this one have been to bowling alleys and skating rinks; you know, easy going fun places. There were no fancy dinners or overly romantic gestures where Hojo could propose something like a promise ring—been there, done that.

"Having fun…" Hojo repeated in disbelief. "But… but—"

"Look, Hojo, you're a really nice and sweet and… and…" I was already running out of complimentary words. "I just thought…" I squeezed the large monkey that Hojo won for me at one of the booths earlier close to my chest, hoping it would give me strength to continue. "I thought we had more of a… friends with benefits kind of relationship."

That was a lie. I actually really liked Hojo, but I knew it wasn't going to progress into love because… Well, just because. I'm telling Hojo we were only friends with benefits though so he won't waste his time on me, thinking I would ever feel the same. You see, it's one of those lies that are supposed to help.

Hojo didn't see it my way, of course. In fact he looked… pissed.

"Well, I guess we had a misunderstanding on that part," Hojo sneered, no longer the sweet and adorable guy I was dating for half a year, and I pulled my monkey closer to me. "God Kagome, I've heard things about you, but…" He shook his head. "Looks like all those guys were right; you're a slut."

My eyes widened before narrowing quickly. To think I was trying to be nice about this break-up and he has calls me a slut. Jerk.

"Hey! Just because I don't love you, doesn't make me a slut!" I felt eyes on me and people stopped to watch. I hate public break-ups.

"You knew our relationship wasn't going anywhere but you kept me around to… to…" Hojo struggled for the right words. "To… satisfy your sex addiction!"

My jaw hit the ground. That asshole!

"You asshole!" I shouted, jabbing a finger in his direction and he just glared at it. "One, I only slept with you _once; _and two, _you're _the one with the sex addiction, always pressuring me into your bed!"

"I didn't—"

"You did!" I shouted, clutching the monkey closer to my chest, feeling the stinging behind my eyes.

"Kagome—"

"Just stop," I cut Hojo off, the thick ball in my throat tightening, meaning I only had thirty seconds before I begin bursting into tears. "Bottom line: we're over." I turned on my heel and began pushing my way through a crowd of people who didn't realize how rude it was to blatantly stare at personal situations.

"Kagome, wait!"

But I kept walking trudging through the park. If I turned around Hojo would actually see me crying and that's not how things work in Kagome's world.

-x-

I'm not crushed or bent out of shape about the break-up—I really _don't_ love Hojo—but all break-ups suck no matter what the conditions are. And Hojo was fun to be around when he wasn't hovering over my shoulder or whining about something, so breaking up with him sucked. Now I have to go back to school Monday and _not _have a boyfriend. Not having a boyfriend isn't the problem, but the rumors of how we broke up, the whispering behind my back, the fake looks of pity? Yeah, _that's _the problem. And Hojo is probably telling all his friends that I'm a slut with a sex addiction…that sucks too.

I flopped down on my bed, laptop in hand and already dressed in sweats and a tank top, standard post break-up clothing. I had a bowl of cut up pineapples on my nightstand as my comfort food because I realized that just _looking_ at ice cream adds five pounds to my hips, so I've been substituting sweets with healthy snacks. It doesn't really work and I find myself doing crunches in the middle of the night, trying to burn off the three donuts I inhaled earlier that day.

I opened up the internet and logged in to my email. I'm the editor of our school newspaper,_ Shikon Times_—I know, _so _original—and I always get a bunch of emails about… everything, really. But, when I'm down on myself, I like to read a bunch of letters to the editor because some are really interesting. Then I need to choose a few to feature in the next issue for newspaper, which is the end of this week on Friday. Newspaper gets published every two weeks.

My inbox finally pops up and, what do you know? It's packed. I open the first email titled, _Letter to the Editor, _and begin to read. This one is complaining about the lunch food and, even though we did a behind the scenes feature of cafeteria food a month ago, I read it because it's funny and laughing seems to banish all my problems.

To be honest, working on the newspaper is not one of my favorite things in the world. It's all factual, dull, and missing that essential thing called life. Newspaper articles can't be biased or use some of the pizzazz that is present in the letters I get. The only pieces that use the ranting that makes me laugh in most letters are the gossip and advice columns. There are some really good features that I get really excited about, but that's once in a blue moon. Most of the times, I'm disappointed by the overall dullness of the newspaper.

In honesty, I'm a _creative _writer and my high school goal was to become the editor of the _literary _magazine, but, after my freshman year, the magazine lost its funding and my goals crumbled. So, being unable to imagine going through high school without any form of writing—and needing some school participation for college applications in the future—I changed my focus to factual writing and joined the newspaper staff. Being unable to be told what I could and couldn't write—and hoping to breathe some life into the paper—I fought to show I deserve to be editor and here I am, Senior year, "top dog" of the_ Shikon Times. _I still get restrictions for Ms. Kido, our supervisor, but I really like being editor. Sure, I have to read a lot of dull pieces—not the writer's fault, but the general dull essence of the newspaper—but I can try spicing them up a bit to the best of my ability. Writing articles may not be my forte, but I'm damn good at breathing life into the paper.

Anyways, when I'm in a bad mood I read some of these letters because… because it proves to me that not everyone in my school is lifeless automatons. The students have opinions; they don't just follow the crowd of popular people (who parade around school like they're royalty), judging by their clothes and cars, and that they're pretty damn rich. It makes me feel better about my school to know that not everyone there is a follower.

I read a few more letters and decide that the letter questioning whether banning the word _gay _in school is an act to help teens or if the teachers are just showing how uncomfortable they are with subject and decide to get rid of the topic all together is controversial enough to publish. And I personally like it because I was wondering the exact the same thing in Calculus the other day. These guys in the back called the problem they were working on gay and Mrs. Muso just froze up. I mean, shouldn't she have _done _something? People should really _think _about this stuff. Are teachers helping us or making the situation better for themselves? It is obvious that teachers and administrators want to avoid problems at all cost, but is banning the word really helping the gay/lesbian/bi population in our school?

Sadly, there are no letters from him and I can't be up all night, staring at the screen, hoping he'll send one of his amazing, opinionated views on life at Shikon High.

I looked at the clock. It's eleven o'clock on a Saturday night and I decide that I'm not tired enough to actually go to bed. I grab Disc 1 of Season 5 of _The Office _off my desk and pull my covers off my bed, deciding to camp out in front of the T.V downstairs watching _The Office _for the hundredth time. What can I say? I love to laugh. I looked at the half eaten bowl of pineapples on my nightstand. I'll scrounge around for some ice cream too. I can go for a run in the morning.

Before I left my room the chime on my laptop went off, signaling I had another email. I ran back over to my desk where I had placed my laptop, hoping he had decided to write to the editor after all. It was just a notification from Facebook, explaining Hojo had sent me a relationship status thingy. He wanted to tell the world that we were no longer together.

I took a deep breath and then confirmed it. I gathered my covers around me and grabbed my movie and headed downstairs, needing the stupidity of Michael Scott to cheer me up. I stopped short to grab my monkey that was resting near my door and drag him down with me.

Breaking up sucks.

-x-

_The rope is so thin and tiny and I can't imagine anyone being able to actually walk across it with no problems. My balance teeters a bit, an invisible blow coming out of nowhere, but I regain it and keep going with perfect composure. I don't fall; I don't have to fear the net._

-0-0-0-0-0-

**Okay, for those who've** **read my profile, the story that I left untitled that I was going to have based off song titles is going to be incorporated in this story, so don't keep looking for it. By the way, it was going to be based off Linkin Park's Numb if any of you care, but you might get a hint for future events in this story. Anyways, I hoped you liked this chapter and if you did, please REVIEW!**

**~Kimiko888~**


	2. Boy Meets Girl

**Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha**

**Walking Tightropes**

**Chapter 2: Boy Meets Girl**

_Psychologists say that we develop a segregation of the sexes at the early age of six with our invention of cooties that led us running from each other screaming, "ewww!"—funny how nowadays people just want to jump each others' bones. We're supposed to stay and only associate with our own sex until our teen years which will result in a better communication with the opposite sex later. I'm serious, there are actual studies, and I believe they're right. I mean, I've been playing with guys since I learned that none of the other girls on my block wanted to play soccer and that was when I was seven. It's the perfect explanation as to why I am failing so miserably with my interaction with the opposite sex these days._

-x-

I was sitting behind the wheel in my car in the student parking lot reading Barry Lyga's _The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl. _I've already read it before, but I ordered _Goth Girl Rising _on Amazon which is like a semi-sequel to this book so I'm just refreshing my memory. Also, I'm highlighting examples of things I learned in a _fiction book _that doesn't bore me to death, so I can prove to my History teacher that we don't have to read nonfiction books to learn something. Really, it's my own fault for being stupid and signing up for history my senior year, but I can't just sit there in class and let him stomp all over the greatness of a good novel.

I was highlighting the reference made to Julius Caesar when I saw my best friend, Sango, walk by my car, struggling with her coffee and stack of books; just the person I needed to see. I pushed my door open, shoving my book and highlighter in my messenger bag as I hopped out, chasing after her.

"Sango!" I shouted, trying to catch up. She looked over her shoulder and stopped, but didn't look too pleased. "Hey there," I greeted as I came up next to her. "Just the person I wanted to see."

"Oh, so _now _you want to talk to me?" Sango asked, raising her brows. I knew this was coming. "What about yesterday morning when I found up about the break-up? Was I not good enough to talk to the twenty times I called you last night and was sent _straight _to voicemail?"

"Sango…"

"I was just trying to be a good friend and be supportive, but _nooooo. _Ms. Kagome here has to drop off the face of the earth and…" Sango moved her hands in wild gestures trying to grasp the right words. She gave up and sighed. "You know it's all over the web."

"I know," I nodded. I checked first thing Sunday morning after the run I never went on. "And that is the exact reason why I need my caring and supportive best friend now." I batted my eyes for effect.

"I'm waiting," Sango responded, tapping her foot. "Class starts in five minutes."

"Right." We began walking. "So, you know how you're the gossip columnist and it's your "job" to spread all the news about break-ups and make-ups and stuff like that?"

"Kagome…"

"Can you _please _keep this out of the paper? I mean, by the time publishing comes around the whole break-up thing will be a week old. What's the point of writing about old news?"

"Uh, maybe because of the fact that he told all his Facebook friends that you have a sex addiction, meaning, it was a bad break-up. Bad break-ups always make for good news."

My jaw hit the floor. "He said that!" Sango nodded her head. "Oh, that jerk! I do not have a sex addiction! That stupid jackass… I'm going to rip him into a million pieces and… and… Argh! I hate his fucking guts!"

"Yes, yes, it was a pretty low blow." Sango nodded as she shifted the weight of her books to her left arm so she could open the door and I stepped through. "But, it would explain why you date around so much."

"You know why." I hissed, looking over my shoulder to glare at the tall brunette who just rolled her eyes.

"No, I know why you can't commit to any relationship. I _don't _know why you choose to throw yourself into relationships you know won't work out." Sango stopped and looked me in my eyes. "Are you sure you're not a nymphomaniac?"

"Sango!" I pushed her away and she laughed. "I am _not _a sex addict. I just… I want to see if I can connect to someone on the same level I connected with Dai. I don't want to be stuck in this unrequited love for the rest of my life."

"Yeah… I know it's been three years and all, but I still don't get how you connected with him through a bunch of letters."

"Sango."

"What?" She shrugged her shoulders in genuine innocence. "I'm just telling you the truth."

"It's just…" I trailed off, shaking my head. Sometimes it's even hard for me to explain how I feel about Dai. "He's just real." I looked at Sango as we stopped at her locker. "Do you get that?"

"Kind of."

"Never mind," I mumbled, shaking my head, the meaning of my feelings lost on my best friend.

Dai is Bulletman and Bulletman is Dai and Bulletman rocks my world.

Bulletman is this guy who has been writing to the editor since I actually picked up a copy of the _Shikon Times _and he's got these really strong opinions on the way our school works and… and they just blow my mind. The first letter I read was how he was going on and on about the way our Student Body President is chosen. The person who is able to come up with the best video that isn't corny, doesn't bore us, and has some form of humor, they win. The guy who sits down and acts serious, hitting on good points, like, going to a pep rally where you can actually _hear _what the people are saying? Yeah, he gets blown off because he's not doing a mini music video or doing some annoying puppet show like the Harry Potter hit sensation. When I read that letter, I just connected with this guy because I thought nobody else saw how ridiculous our school system was. And then he kept writing and getting published in paper and I found myself developing one of those weird, anonymous kinds of crushes.

But then Bulletman wasn't anonymous anymore and it turned into a full blown crush on Dai Yuhara because I was reading over his shoulder once—no, I don't exactly know _why—_and it turns out he was writing a letter to the editor. He signed as Bulletman and I just… I fell in love with a guy who saw through all the absolute bull this school had to offer. But, on Valentine's Day Sophomore year, when I was going to tell him just how much I admired his opinions and how much I was in love with him, I found out from an obnoxiously loud cheerleader that he had asked some girl, Yoko, to be his girlfriend that morning. I mean, Yoko was a _cheerleader _who—and he wrote a letter about this—was just someone who wore a uniform around school to flaunt that they were part of a clique that you would never be a part of. What happened to his opinion on _that?_

So, anyways, Yoko and Dai—sounds horrible together, right?—have been dating for three years and I've been searching for someone to replace him for three years. Well, I'm still in love with Dai if that tells you anything about the progress I've made. None. I'm still banking on the day when Dai wakes up and sees through all the bull that _Yoko _is and sees that I'm someone real and he'll come up to me and ask me out. Why can't the world ever go my way?

"…in luck," Sango was saying as she slammed her locker shut and spun the dial on her luck. "There's news bigger than your break-up bouncing around the halls."

"Really?" I asked, now giving Sango my undivided attention. "What?"

"We have a new student," Sango smiled, turning to me. "A new, sexy, silver headed and dog eared student who just happens to be in your Calculus, Lit., and Weight Management class."

"Wait." As great as it is to hear that there is someone new to the school that hasn't had their mind sucked into the vacuum of creative suppression, something wasn't adding up. "It's Monday morning and you just got to school. How do you know there's a new student, let alone his _schedule?_"

"It's called, Friday afternoon and waiting in the office."

"What were you doing in the office?"

"Snooping. Duh," Sango said, rolling her eyes and flicking me in my forehead. "Do you have any idea how much you can learn from just sitting in the office waiting room?"

"I do now."

"Whatever," Sango waved off as we headed to Calculus together where, apparently, the new student waits. "He just came up to me and was asking me how to get to some of his classes so he wouldn't look lost on Monday. So, I looked at his schedule and noticed that y'all had a few of the same classes together."

"I see." We made a left turn and headed up the case of stairs that would deposit us right next to our Calculus class with Mrs. Muso. "So, did I tell you I found yet another fact in a _fiction _novel?"

"You're still going on about that?"

"Of course!" I fished out my book from my bag, flipping open to the page I was highlighting earlier. "You see, right here is a reference to Caesar! When he crossed the Rubicon River after Pompey drew the line in the sand, specifically telling Caesar not to. Factual information!"

"It actually said all that in the book?"

"Well…no. _But,_" I hurried on before Sango could completely dismiss my point, "the fact that it mentioned the Rubicon River is enhancing my memory of the fact that the Rubicon has to deal with Caesar making the book like… a study guide of some sort."

"Okay," Sango said, nodding her head, but not really believing what I was saying.

"And I've got about three more books in my locker filled with highlighted material, waiting to be used in a debate against Mr. Kahn," I continued. "I've got my argument in the bag."

"I hope you plan to engage Mr. Kahn in a debate today," Sango spoke as we both exited the stairwell and walked across the hall into our Calculus class. "Rumor has it, that he wants to give us a pop quiz."

"Again, it's early in the morning and nobody has even taken his class yet. How do you _know _this stuff?"

Sango shrugged. "I have one of those feelings."

"Whatever." I mumbled as we weaved our way through seats to get to our desks in the back of the class. Mrs. Muso let us pick our seats in the beginning of the year. Sango and I were fast enough to grab seats in the back of the class where we could whisper and not get called out.

Just then Dai walked into the class, even though we don't have this class together—Dai is on the fast track for super smart people—and, like always, I was dropped into a daze that involved floating hearts dancing around Dai. He was talking to Mrs. Muso so he had no idea I was staring at him like the lovesick puppy I am.

He has no idea how amazing he is. Really, the way he walks and talks, it carries this air of confidence that is just so attractive in a guy, he doesn't realize that he has this easy going smile that makes him seem so much more approachable so…nice and, God, he has absolutely no idea how perfect he is, or how _real _he is. He's so down to earth it's unreal and it makes him that much cooler and he's not ugly at _all. _And…God, he's completely oblivious to the flips he makes my stomach do every time he's within a ten foot radius.

"Earth to Kagome!" Sango suddenly shouted, snapping her fingers in front of my face, snapping me out of my daydream. "God, you always zone out when he's around."

"No I—" Dai was waving bye to Mrs. Muso and walking out of the door and out of my view. "Damnit, I missed him!"

"You were _just _staring at him," Sango pointed out.

"No, I was staring at the _back _of him. There's a huge difference between the back and the side of his face."

Sango just looked at me blankly for a few seconds before shaking her head and turning around in her seat to face the front. "You're hopeless, Kagome. Hope. Less."

"Oh, don't lecture me." I scoffed as the warning bell went off above our heads. "Do you remember how love struck you were when you first saw Miroku?"

"I don't like Miroku!" Sango hissed, but the deep shade of red she was turning contradicted her words. "And, if I did look love struck, that was before he decided to rub his hands all over my ass!"

"You _love _him," I cooed, laughing as Sango's face grew redder. "You want to _kiss _him. You want to—"

"Shut up Kagome!" Sango shouted mortified, burying her head in her arms as I cackled. "I just might take back my promise to keep you out of the paper."

"Sorry, but here's the thing," Sango turned her head to look at me. "I can simply not publish the piece. I don't know why I didn't think of that before."

"You're so—" Sango stopped talking and she lifted her head, grinning ear to ear at something in the front of the room. "Well, lookie here."

"What?" I asked, already turning my head to the front of the class and my heartbeat stopped for a second. There stood a guy who was tall, silver headed, and had the cutest pair of puppy ears on the top of his head, but even with cute ears he wasn't cute. No, this guy was _hot. _He wore a pair of perfect fitting dark jeans—not too tight, not too baggy—and a simple red t-shirt but he made them look like designer clothes. And his eyes…hot damn, his eyes were gold. _Gold!_

"My god," I whispered to Sango, blatantly staring at the new comer. "Who is _that?_"

"That is the guy who is in three of your classes and saved you from getting published in this week's gossip column." I could practically hear the smile in Sango's voice. "His name is Inuyasha Takahashi."

Before I could even comment, the new guy, Inuyasha apparently, turned and looked right at me and I was caught in the act of gawking. Don't you just hate getting caught staring at someone? I do. He looked me right in the eyes and after a few seconds of me just sitting there, frozen and embarrassed, he smiled at me. And not a 'you're-so-pathetic smirk/smile', a _real _smile with his fangs gleaming and eyes shining and I thought I was going to faint. It should be a crime for someone to look that good.

The final bell rang above our heads and everyone moved to take their seats and Inuyasha kept his eyes on me as he found his way to an empty seat in front of Sango. It was Ayumi's seat, but I couldn't find the words to tell him that. God, would he _stop _staring at me already? I'm about to pass out!

Mrs. Muso stood from her desk and immediately started talking about last night's homework. That's when Inuyasha finally turned around to face the front, but, not before shooting me another lopsided grin. When he turned away, I couldn't stop staring at the back of his head. This is unhealthy. Very, very unhealthy.

I wasn't brought out of my daze until a wadded up ball of paper came flying out of nowhere and hit me in my temple. I looked around and saw Sango pointing at the paper wad, urging me to read it.

I unfolded the paper and read: _Don't do it. I know that look and he's your next victim.—S _

I didn't waste time replying. _My next victim in what? –K _

_In your search to find a replacement, but it always fails and you just leave a massive trail of heartbreak behind you.—S _

I gasped. _I don't do it on purpose!—K _

_I know, but it happens and I don't see the point of you going after this guy if you know it's not going to work.—S _

_I don't know anything—K._

Sango looked over and gave me a look before shaking her head and writing something down on the crinkled paper.

_Alright then, actually _try _this time. Don't go out with the guy and compare him to Dai in the back of your mind the entire time he's talking. You have to give at least one guy a fighting chance. Go out with a guy because you _like _him, not because you're trying to fill the void Dai left behind.—S _

I scowled at the piece of paper. Where was all this coming from? So, yeah, I do have a tendency to compare everyone to Dai, but that's only because they're not being real with me. They're only telling me the stuff I want to hear. Why would I give somebody who's basically kissing my ass a real chance? I'd give them a _real _chance if they weren't just spitting out lies of things that they know I like in hopes of getting me in their bed. I mean, _really? _Should I be the one to blame here?

Still… I guess Sango does have a point. I should stop searching for Dai's replacement and start looking for an actual boyfriend. I'm not saying I plan on committing to the relationship, but I should start trying to _forget _Dai, not replace him. Unless he and Yoko break up, then I am definitely going after him.

_I see your point, but I don't get why you're lecturing me. It's not like I'm going to go out with Inuyasha. I don't even _know _him, and I don't date guys I don't know. —K._

Sango read the note and then gave me a look that said she didn't believe a word of what I just wrote as she shook her head and slid the note into her backpack. She turned her attention to Mrs. Muso who was droning on and on about stuff I still didn't understand after two months of school. I tried to listen too, I really did, but the pair of twitching ears on a head of silver stole my attention away every time.

-x-

"Smile!"

I was blinded by a flash the second I walked out of calculus and I had to stop for a second, blinking the floating blobs of green and blue out of my vision.

"Ooh… that's not your best look. Maybe we should try another one."

"What the hell Bank?" I hissed at my friend, shoving the camera he held up out of my face.

"Well, good morning to you too Kagome. Yes, I had an okay morning, landed lunch detention for excessive talking last block, but you don't seem to care. That's what friends are for; _not _caring."

"Good to see you're still sarcastic as ever this early in the morning," Sango yawned as she stepped out of the threshold behind me. She had clocked out of class after fifteen minutes of trying to keep her eyes opened. I would have done the same if I wasn't already struggling in this class.

"What's with the flashing lights so early?" I grumbled stepping out of some guy's way as he came running past me, about to shove me into a locker. Jerk.

"Yearbook. I'm trying to convince the editor to do a page on how miserably tired everyone is in the morning. I think it would bring a good laugh."

"If you say so."

Bankoutsu has been my friend since freshman year when he ended up sitting next to me in Creative Writing. He had applied for Photography, but the class was full and administration threw him into Creative Writing which wasn't exactly Bank's forte. But we bonded anyways because I was a part of the Lit. Magazine—he submitted a lot of his photos to the magazine—and…I don't know. We had the magazine in common and our friendship just blossomed from that. Bank's on the yearbook staff, but he'll send the newspaper a few pictures because, unfortunately, not many of the really good photographers like Bank bother with newspaper.

"Speaking of pictures," I spoke up, shifting the subject. "Do you think you have any from last week's football game you're willing to spare? Aki took too many pictures of the cheerleaders.  
Again." Really, do you have any idea how much it sucks to have a photographer who's in charge of the sports be a complete perv? Yeah, a lot of high school guys have raging hormones but Aki has a _responsibility _to the paper.

"I'll see what I have and stop by the newsroom after school."

"You're a life saver," I smiled at Bank and he puffed out his chest a bit. "I have to stop by to pick up a few things this afternoon anyway."

"Excuse me," a smooth and deep voice spoke up from behind us. I turned around and stopped breathing. "Hey, Sango right?" Sango nodded at Inuyasha. "Yeah, well I kind of need help getting around again. Which way do I go to get to…" he fished his schedule out of his pocket, "room 210?"

God. Even when he's acting humble and asking for directions with that sheepish grin of his he still looks like a Greek god. Just the way he wears his bag over one shoulder instead of two makes him seem so much cooler. And how he's actually listening to what Sango is saying and nodding his head, actually paying attention, is amazing. And the way his ears twitch on the top of his head. And the way his fangs gleam when he smiles. And how his eyes are so gold as they look at me.

They look at me…

Ah, shit. They must have asked me something and I was too busy in dreamland—which is very unhealthy considering the fact that I don't know Inuyasha—to hear what they said. Don't you just hate when that happens?

"Kagome…" Sango prodded me. I looked at her with wide eyes, silently begging her to repeat the question. "Inuyasha still doesn't get it, so don't you think it'd be easier if you just walked with him since you both have that Lit. class together?"

Walking with Inuyasha? "Of course!" I smiled at Inuyasha offering my hand and he took it, smiling a smile that would blind anybody. "I'm… uh, I'm Kagome….Higurashi. Kagome Higurashi."

"Inuyasha Takahashi," Inuyasha offered as if I didn't already know his name. Hello, my best friend is the frickin' gossip police of these halls. And considering the fact that I've been staring at the back of his head all of last class, it would be extremely creepy if I was doing that while not knowing his name. Picturing me running my fingers through his long silver hair and not knowing his name? Can you say _creeper_? "What's up?"

"Your hair is amazing."

It took the loud guffaw Bank let out, Sango's hand slapping her forehead, and Inuyasha's confused look for me to realize what I just said. And that Inuyasha said '_what's up', _and didn't ask for my opinion on his luscious locks. God, I hate getting embarrassed like that.

"Wh-what I meant," I tried to recover, but I could feel the tips of my ears burning. "Is...Is that your, um… your hair is up, because you're taller than me and because I was thinking about your hair. I just thought about how amazing it is…I mean, silver, wow; bold choice for a hair dye."

"It's natural, actually." Inuyasha answered, running his hand through his hair, but he was smiling at me as he answered, amused. And I realized he was chewing gum because he chewed it lightly as his smile grew, and for some reason it just made him seem sexier. I bet his breath smelled really good too. I wonder how close I'd have to be to smell it.

"Wow, Kagome," Bank spoke up with laughter in his voice. "You just keep screwing up."

"Shut up, Bank," I mumbled, my entire face and neck now on fire. "I'm going to be late for class. Let's go, Inuyasha." I said, grabbing a hold of his forearm—which was _huge, _might I say—and started leading him down the hall.

I still heard the click of Bank's camera going off behind me though, and Sango whispering to him that she wanted that picture for her article. The picture of me holding onto Inuyasha as if I liked him. Ha! Don't you just hate it when your best friend is the gossip columnist?

-x-

_Don't you believe in that study now? I mean, what else could explain the reason as to why I zone out because Inuyasha has a great face, body, smile, and hair? It's not that I like him or was struck by one of Cupid's stupid arrows. _Hello_, did you miss my whole Dai episode? Besides, I don't fall for guys I don't know. Period._

_The main thing is, boy meets girl and girl fails miserably, and now we all know why. Get it? It's a psychological thing._

-0-0-0-0-0-

**Alright, so there's chapter two of Walking Tightropes which gives you a better insight into Kagome's thoughts. I wasn't going to do an opening or ending for this, but I was struck with an idea and wrote it. Oh, and by the way, that study the psychologist really is real. I Googled it. So, if you have problems with the opposite sex, you now know why. :D REVIEW!**

**This chapter has now been edited by hanmojoerin and I have to keep thanking her for all her help because she is AWESOME!**

**~Kimiko888~**


	3. The Ex

**Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha**

**Okay, so here's the deal; I'm on summer vacation and I've been taking these naps around 1 or 2 everyday and they last until like, 5-7. Anyways, these naps give me energy to work on until, like, late at night and throw that together with the fact that I know how I want this story to go so far, equals frequent updates. I know, I seem old for taking routinely naps, but I'm telling you, it is **_**really **_**relaxing. It took me forever to pull myself out of bed this afternoon. Alright, enough of me boring you, now on to chapter 3 of Walking Tightropes!**

**Walking Tightropes**

**Chapter 3: The Ex**

_I really like Lit and for many reasons actually. One, it's one of the only classes where I understand what the hell the teacher is talking about. Two, the books we're reading aren't absolutely horrible. And Three, I'm taking AP Lit and it's the only AP class that I have an A in. Oh, and Mr. Vyke isn't all that bad looking for a 28 year old. Not that I have a creepy, underage crush on him or anything._

_But, there's a bad side to every good thing and here's the thing with Lit: Hojo's in my class._

_I know, sucks, right?_

-x-

I had completely forgotten all about Hojo in the time between begging Sango to keep the break-up out of the paper and seeing Inuyasha for the first time. However, the memory at the park hit me like a ton of bricks when I walked into Lit, hand still gripping Inuyasha's forearm. Hojo looked at InuYasha and me and gave me a look that could kill. I'm not doing a very good job with disproving the whole 'slut' rumor Hojo is probably spreading around.

I immediately took my hand off Inuyasha and walked to my desk in the middle of the class with my head down. I think Inuyasha was going to follow me to a nearby empty desk, but, unlike Mrs. Muso who didn't notice Inuyasha until he asked for a book, Mr. Vyke noticed Inuyasha immediately and made him come to the front so he could issue him a book and make him introduce himself to the class after the bell rang.

To make the situation even better, Hojo sits behind me. He sits behind me and breathes down my neck when all I want to do is forget his existence. Yes, I broke the guy's heart, I'm not proud of it, but I can _feel _his eyes burning holes in the back of my head and it's not very comfortable. Hojo hates me, I know that, but his Darth Vader heavy breathing on my neck was starting to creep me out.

I finally decided that I couldn't take it anymore and I should try my chances at acting as if Saturday night never happened. I don't like the whole… awkwardness of this situation.

"Hey Hojo," I smiled as I turned around, the entire room falling into a hush. This is what happens when your boyfriend tells everybody you're a heartless mega bitch that only goes out with people to get them in bed. All lies. "How was Mr. Kahn's class? Sango said she had a pop quiz feeling and I'm hoping to disprove her for once, so…"

Hojo looked at me with suspicion laced with hate as he searched my face for a clue as to whether or not I had any ulterior motives. And I didn't; I just wanted to know if we would be having a 'pop' quiz or not (and to get him to stop breathing down my neck).

"Kahn keeps lecturing us on how pissed he gets when we give it away that we're having a pop quiz to his other classes and he's threatening to take away our extra credit," Hojo finally answered. "I can't tell you anything."

_Funny, because you sure didn't hesitate when you thought you could lure me into your bed. _It was a bitter thought and it's not like I can hold him against it since he was in love with me and seriously, what should I expect? To be treated the exact same way after that horrendous break up? Fat chance; break ups don't work like that.

"That's too bad," I sighed, but I didn't really want to turn back around yet. "So… how was your weekend?"

Hojo's eyes narrowed. "It was pretty shitty. Yours?"

Maybe that wasn't the best question to ask. We broke up this weekend. And Sunday, judging by the amount of rumors humming through the halls, he was pissed and spent all day in his room telling everyone what a bitch I was. I should have kept the questions simple. Something like what he had for breakfast.

"Eh…" I offered, shrugging my shoulders. "Nothing special."

For some reason that seemed to piss Hojo off even more. What? What did I do now to make him hate my guts even more? He asked about my weekend and I chose to remain indifferent and say nothing special happened. I went to the park, broke up with him, and spent the rest of Sunday avoiding all contact with the outside world. What could I have possibly done wrong _now_?

"It seems you found yourself a new toy." Hojo whispered dangerously low, glaring over my shoulder. When I turned around I saw he was burning holes into Inuyasha's back. "Where'd you find that one?"

Oh, so this is what that look of hate is about. Jealousy. He thinks I like Inuyasha and I can see why he'd be pissed considering it has been only… less than two days since we broke up. But, Inuyasha shouldn't be the one he's worried about; it should be Dai. Dai is the one I was comparing him to the entire time, the reason we broke up, the reason I will never love him. God, I _am _a bitch. Faking it like Hojo had an honest chance when I was really just… I don't even know what I was doing for the six months anymore.

"…a real keeper." Hojo was hissing when I tuned back into the conversation. "I mean any guy who dyes his hair silver is a strait as Ronnie's hair." Ronnie is this kid on the baseball team with the biggest afro of curls you can imagine. It's like he refuses to get a haircut.

"One, not only am I 99.5% sure that he's not gay, but I also happen to know that the color of his hair is _natural_. And two, you're a fucking jackass and I don't regret breaking up with you at _all_." And three, I _don't _like Inuyasha. Why can't anyone see that?

That said, I turned back around in my desk and faced the front, ignoring the eruption of conversation that broke out in the classroom as the warning bell went off. I don't get it. I'm not popular and I don't stand out very much in a crowd, but everyone is always in my business and I don't know _why. _Yeah, you just watched the editor of the school newspaper and her ex get in a post break up fight, good for you. What good does that do anyone? In fact, more than half the people in this school don't even know I'm the editor of _Shikon Times._ Then again, less than half the people at this school actually _buy_ the paper.

"Well, you're a bitch Kagome," Hojo hissed in my ear as he leaned forward. "And don't you ever forget it."

I hate him. I hate Hojo so much. What I did hurt him, I get it, but he's being a _really _big asshole about it.

"All right class," Mr. Vyke spoke, clapping his hands together as the bell rang. "We have a new student joining you in this prison cell so let's all make him feel welcomed." I loved how Mr. Vyke admitted that school was a place that contained our free spirits. "Inuyasha, please introduce yourself to the class."

Inuyasha stepped up and took center stage, not looking nervous at all considering he was being singled out as the new kid. Not that I think anyone in their right mind would have a reason to hate Inuyasha. I mean, just _look _at him. Oh man; I sound shallow.

"My name is Inuyasha Takahashi, I now live with my dad, I play the guitar and piano, but I don't like to really sing. But if you know of any local bands looking or a guitarist, just let me know."

A girl in the front raised her hand and Inuyasha's brow furrowed together before he called on her. "Yeah?"

"Would you like us to give you a contact number in case we do find a band that is looking for a guitarist?" She gave him an alluring look, licking her lips and pushing her chest out just a bit more than she already does for Mr. Vyke. That slut!

"Just talk to me at school," Inuyasha answered, offering a fleeting smile. He looked at me and gave me a what-the-fuck look and I felt special for being the one he shared this thought with.

"Alright, that's good Inuyasha," Mr. Vyke interrupted before any more hands could shoot up. "Please take a seat…"

Next to me. The guy I sit next to always skips this class or is sick or whatever. He misses so much class time I don't even know his name. Really, who would care if Inuyasha sat next to me and we ended up bonding over _The Illiad? _

The breathing on the back of my neck was hot and got heavier. Maybe Hojo would care.

"The seat next to Kagome is always empty; please take a seat beside her." Whoo! I love Mr. Vyke. "Kagome, please be sure to help Inuyasha out with whatever."

"No problem, sir."

Inuyasha was wearing some sort of smirk as he walked down the aisle and towards his seat. He smiled at me as he slid into his desk and leaned over as Mr. Vyke jumped into a speech about this weekend's homework.

"I guess you're stuck with me," He whispered in my ear and a set of shivers ran down my spine.

"I guess so."

"_Shhh," _Hojo hissed from behind us. "Some of us actually _care _about what Mr. Vyke is saying and aren't trying to find a new toy for their enjoyment."

"Hojo…"

"No, I think it's fair this guy knows exactly what he's getting himself in." Hojo said, looking at me dead in the eye, challenging me to stop him. Even if I wanted to—and I really, _really _did—Hojo continued before I had a chance, now looking at Inuyasha who looked a bit confused. "You see, Kagome isn't looking to settle down at all. No, it's really a friends-with-benefits relationship except you're left out on that tiny bit of information, and you don't find out until you fall in love. Then she wants to laugh in your face and call you delusional because you actually thought the relationship was going somewhere when in fact, it's all just a relationship formed to satisfy her—"

"I do not—" I stopped myself before I blurted it out and looked around to make sure Mr. Vyke hadn't heard our little conversation. So far, so good. "Just drop it, Hojo," I hissed, still facing forward. "He's got nothing to do with this."

"I'm not the only one who says it though," Hojo continued talking behind my head and I wanted to rip him to shreds, instead I gripped the edge of my desk to keep from doing so. "I didn't believe it because we were together for six months"—for some reason I don't want anyone to know I dated Hojo, now that he's being a complete ass—"but it's all the same no matter how long you're with her. Kagome doesn't commit and she's only in it for the fun. She's your Class A sl—"

"Shut up!" I shouted, whirling around completely forgetting the fact that I was in the middle of class. "I'm _not _a slut, okay? I just don't love you. Back off," I seethed through gritted teeth. I hate Hojo's guts.

"Is there a problem here?"

I flinched at Mr. Vyke's deep voice and slowly turned around, trying to ignore the many pair of eyes on me. I _hate _discussing relationships in the middle of class. Even when Hojo was playing nice and leaning over his desk to whisper in my ear when we were dating. I hated it because I knew every single pair of eyes in here saw him flirting at least once and I just hate that feeling. The feeling when the whole class knows your boyfriend can't keep it in his pants; it's just _awkward._

"No, everything's—"

"Not okay," Inuyasha cut me off, I looked at him to ask him what the hell he was doing but he didn't even look back at me. "This guy over here is clearly harassing this girl with these crude remarks and while I'm trying to ignore him, all his hissing and deep breathing is distracting me and I didn't catch a word you just said. I can't sit here and pretend to be invisible when this guy is verbally abusing…" Inuyasha squinted at me as if he was trying to remember something. "Kagome, was it?"

"Uh… th-that's right. I…m-my name that is," I managed to get it out like the bumbling fool I've been about all morning when it came to Inuyasha. But this time I was surprised and not too caught up in Inuyasha's looks to completely blank on a response. I was genuinely shocked that Inuyasha was… was he trying to defend me?

Mr. Vyke looked back and forth between me and Hojo before his eyes finally settled on me. "Is that true Kagome?"

"I… It's…" I looked over to Inuyasha and he nodded his head discreetly. "Yeah," I finally answered, surprised that the words made it pass the tennis ball in my throat. "We're not really on the best of terms right now." I whispered, hanging my head so my hair hid my face from everyone else in the room. Just thinking about everybody who was watching this little drama unfold was making my stomach sick.

"I see." Mr. Vyke looked around for a second and the class fell into an awkward silence. Even the shuffling of papers seemed wrong in this situation. "Uh…Yoko? Yes, Yoko," Mr. Vyke repeated to himself, assuring himself that whatever he was planning was a good. "Yoko, would you please switch seats with Hojo?"

I tensed for a second. I get rid of Hojo but only to be replaced by the girl the guy I love is in love with. I don't know whether this change is for the better or worse.

"Uh… sure," Yoko answered after a moment of hesitation. When I looked over my shoulder she was gathering her stuff and heading towards Hojo's seat, where Hojo was still sitting, dumbstruck.

"Mr. Vyke, I'm not—"

"I heard enough of the conversation to know who to believe," Mr. Vyke cut Hojo and I blushed a deep shade of red. "Please, to your new seat."

After some huffing and grumbling under his breath, Hojo finally got up from the seat and marched towards the back of the class and Yoko took her new seat behind me. At least she wasn't breathing down my neck. Then again… if she ever finds out I'm in love with her boyfriend she might shove daggers in my back when I fall asleep in class.

"Alright, now that that's been taken care of, let's get back on topic." Mr. Vyke picked up his copy of _To Kill a Mockingbird _and delved us into a discussion over this weekend's reading

"Are you okay?" Inuyasha whispered from beside me but when I looked over, he was facing forward as if he never said a word. For a second I thought it might have been my imagination, but he looked at me out of the corner of his eye after I was quiet for too long. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah…" I finally answered, slowly facing forward to make it look as if we were actually listening. "Thanks a lot by the way. I… I was just going to endure it. I thought I deserved it because of the break-up and everything, but he was hitting on some really—"

"Nobody deserves to be treated like that over a break-up." Inuyasha whispered back, cutting me off. "Unless you cheated on him, and I don't see you as the type of person to cheat."

"I'm not."

"Well, then he's being an asshole. You don't deserve to be talked about like that."

I looked at Inuyasha out of the corner of my eye to see him staring at me intently, and the seriousness in his gold eyes took my breath away.

"I… uh, thanks," I mumbled, looking away to hide my blush behind a curtain of hair. "That's really good to hear."

"Ahem, Kagome?" Mr. Vyke cleared his throat and looked at me with raised brows. "Is there _another _problem over there?"

"No," I answered, shaking my head. "Everything's…" I looked at Inuyasha who was looking at me blankly as if nothing happened. I still blushed a bit and my lips twitched up into a smile. "Everything is fine, Mr. Vyke. Perfect."

"Then please, would you answer number two on the study guide?" He looked at my blank desk and clucked his tongue. "Really, Kagome, I'd expect you to be on top of things after two months of school."

"Sorry." I mumbled, pulling the crinkled sheet of paper out of my book bag and smoothing it out on my desk so it would be a bit easier to read. "Number two…"

"We're waiting."

"Right. Well, I thought…" For some reason I didn't have an answer number two. Or three or four or the whole sheet for that matter. Crap. But I did the reading so all I had to do was read the question and try to form an answer. "I thought that when…" Mr. Vyke tapped his foot, looking impatient. I quickly threw some crap answer together. Mr. Vyke was pleased enough to move on to the next question that I was sure to copy the answer down for.

"Very impressive for someone who didn't do their homework," Inuyasha muttered from beside me and when I looked over he was trying not to smile.

"I did the reading," I mumbled. "But you have to be able to think on your feet."

"For some reason, I don't see you being good with that." Inuyasha shrugged. "Maybe the whole 'your hair is what's up' thing just has me a little off base." He smiled, but I was still embarrassed beyond belief that he hadn't chosen to completely discard that memory. "But there's always a next time." Inuyasha smiled and my heart skipped a beat.

"Next time," I promised, "I am going to blow you away."

-x-

"And he was such an ass about the entire thing," I told Ayame in the locker room as I pulled my shirt off and tossed it into the open locker. "I usually feel like the big bad bitch after a break-up, but I don't this time. I'm just…" My gym shirt dangled from my hand as I tried to grasp the right words, "pissed. I just hate him so much now." I pulled my shirt over my head and got to work on taking off my jeans. "And then he tells Inuyasha all this complete _bull _about how I'm a slut. Me!" I shouted, whipping my jeans off and throwing them in my locker to join my shirt and I pulled my shorts out of my book bag. "He is being _such _a bitch!"

"Such an asshole," Ayame agreed with a nod as she finished tying her shoes. She's always dressed and ready before me. "Telling Inuyasha—and I have _no _idea who he is or his significance—you're a slut is just _wrong;_ it has assholery just written all over it."

"Sorry," I apologized, giving Ayame a weak smile as I pulled my shorts up and grabbed my sneakers. "Inuyasha is this new guy in my Calc and Lit class. And I think Sango told me we shared this class. He's, like, _ridiculously _hot."

"Ahh…" Ayame nodded as she stood up from the bench in the middle of the row of lockers. "So, in other words, he's your new crush."

"No," I denied almost too quickly. "He's just… really hot. And I was mad at Hojo for telling him I was a slut because he could be very good friend material," I answered before Ayame had a chance to ask, propping my foot up on the bench to tie my shoe. "And I don't like Hojo telling _anyone _I'm a slut. It's degrading."

"He should have thought of a better way to deal with the heartbreak." Ayame agreed, snatching her water bottle from her locker. "Then again," I looked at her expectantly, "you should have thought of a better way of breaking up with him. The friends with benefits deal? Really?"

"I was just trying to completely crush his hopes that I would ever eventually love him!" I thought over what I just said. "I guess that doesn't sound very good."

"Exactly. You should have tried to bring him down easy and then find a good excuse as to why you can't go out with him any longer." Ayame advised and I listened carefully. "He'd only be mopey and not an asshole if you did it that way."

"Why can't you just do the break-ups for me?"

"I can't stand to see a heartbroken face." Ayame shrugged. "Now let's go before coach barks at us again for holding up our class with our 'lady talk'." Ayame rolled her eyes and I laughed, quickly tying my other shoe. We both headed out of the locker room to the weight room where Weight Management was held.

Ayame and I met freshman year in gym. We bonded over complaining about running laps, push-ups, sit-ups, flag football, etcetera, and celebrating when it rained, meaning we couldn't run laps on the track or play any of the outdoor activities. Rainy days usually resulted in playing basketball indoors, but, being athletically challenged, we usually ended up sitting off to the side, talking and rolling a ball back and forth between us. Then we took Swimming together as sophomores and whined over the hundred sit-ups—and I'm not exaggerating—we ended up doing on Workout Wednesdays that had our stomach aching the next day. Junior Year it was aerobics and getting tired of the constant lifting of our legs, and now we're in Weight Management together, not liking days when we did track exercises. Over the years we managed to mold our complaining into a solid friendship and actually stayed fit through all that complaining.

"Glad to see you two finally decided to join us." Coach Rowan greeted us as we stepped into the weight room, checking our names off on his attendance sheet. The middle of the floor was cleared and mats were set down and my classmates were lined up on either side of the mats. Great. We were starting off with sit-ups and push-ups. "I'm going to start timing you two and marking you tardy. Holding up the class with your lady talk…" he mumbled, setting the clipboard down on the floor behind him. Ayame and I both rolled our eyes. "Get into the line ladies so we can finally start," Coach Rowan ordered and we complied.

We squeezed into line on opposite sides of each other, two spots down from where Inuyasha stood across from Miroku who waved as we passed him. Inuyasha caught my eye on my way and offered a miniscule smile that Ayame didn't miss and she nudged me.

"You may not like him, but he seems to be really into you."

"Shut up!" I whispered, pushing her away as she laughed.

"Alright, we're going to warm up today with some push-ups." Ayame and I shared a look of dread. "Let's do… three sets of ten to start. Down on the mats!"

I grumbled under my breath as I got down on my hands and knees. I was about to start doing 'girl' push-ups—Coach Rowan refers to them as Type 2 push-ups to not be sexist but he slips up all the time—when Coach blew his whistle obnoxiously loud in my ear.

"Real push-up today girls," Coach scolded and I sighed, lifting myself up on my hands and toes. I can do real push-ups, easy, but is there really a crime with being lazy? "Alright, we'll do the first two sets on my count. Ready? Down!" We went all went down. "Up! One!" The weight room isn't that big so I don't get why Coach Rowan always insists on yelling.

"You know, I finally understand why you keep dating," Ayame whispered so not to be overheard by Rowan where he could lecture us again about our distracting 'lady talk'.

"Down!"

"You've only told me this a hundred times."

"Up! Two!"

"No, but I _really _get it now." We went down as ordered. "You are codependent."

"Up! Three!"

"I mean, think about it. You don't _have _to try to fill the void now; we're in high school for heaven's sake and how many high school relationships actually last?"

"Down!"

"There are plenty of high school sweetheart stories and I am _not _codependent. I do plenty of things on my own!"

"I said down Higurashi!" I dropped to the ground, grumbling. "Up! Four!"

"Well, codependency is the only explanation the public is going to believe. Well, that or the _other _explanation."

"One, people should mind their own business because this has nothing—"

"Down!"

"—to do with them." It's so stupid that people talk about a person they don't even know just because they're bored and need something to talk about. I'm pretty sure less than half my senior class knows who I am without hearing my name through gossip. "And two, _what _other made up explanation is there?"

"Up! Five!"

"That you have a sex addiction," Ayame said easily.

"Down!"

"I do _not _have a sex addiction," I hissed, trying to control my volume. "Hojo is just—"

"Higurashi! _Down."_

I dropped to the ground again, but I heard the undeniable sound of someone trying to stifle a laugh. I looked over to my left and saw Inuyasha biting his lip with a red face, laughing through his nose. He was whispering something to Miroku who looked at me, lifting up his brows and I had to look away to hide the huge blush creeping up to take over. The one thing I was trying to keep Inuyasha from finding out about and I was the one who spilled the beans. Great. This is a total _Office _moment (Jim told everyone at the rehearsal dinner that Pam was pregnant instead of Michael like everyone thought).

"Up! I said up Higurashi!"

I would prefer to stay down, thank you very much. Maybe I had a better chance of hiding embarrassment if I kept my face pressed into the ground.

-x-

_I really hate Weight Management for all of the obvious reasons: the physical effort that is required causes a mental strain on my creativity and a physical strain on my body. The fact that you can't take a nap in a class that requires constant movement. Oh, and get this; on lifting days weights are actually _heavy. _Who'd a thunk it? And Coach Rowan is always calling me out for, I don't know, _everything _wasn't making that class any better._

_But Inuyasha is in my class now and things were starting to look up for me. I was almost actually _looking forward _to Weigh Management. But then I had to go and make a fool out of myself and for some reason Inuyasha knowing that I had a lot of boyfriends—he'd probably find out sooner or later—let alone slept with them, just doesn't sit right in my stomach._

-0-0-0-0-0-

**And that's it for chapter 3. I had a better ending planned but right before I could write it my mom comes bombarding in and kicks me off the computer, claiming she needed to use it, and I completely forgot what I was planning to write. Don't you just hate it when that happens? Alright so I hoped you liked it and PLEASE REVIEW! Because I get really happy when I read reviews :D**

**hanmajoerin was so here, and let THUNK slide…which means she edited...DUH!**

**~Kimiko888~**


	4. Strawberries

**Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha**

**Okey Dokey folks, I have finally gotten around to it and updated this story! Yeaaah! And hanmajoerin edited so there shouldn't be any mistakes. And now, you all can read and hopefully enjoy this chapter. There's so little to say now that I'm not apologizing for late updates.**

**Walking Tightropes**

**Chapter 4: Strawberries**

_Top 5 Reasons to hate __The Morning Ribbet__:_

_5. It's a stupid name._

_4. It's boring._

_3. They rule over almost all forms of school advertisement, getting rid of the need for posters which I actually like (brightens the halls)._

_2. The anchormen/women are all stuck up people who love hearing themselves talk and are _unbelievably _full of themselves. _

_1. They're __Shikon Times__ arch enemy._

-x-

"We're losing funding."

I only came to the newsroom to see if there were any finished pieces that I need to look over and grab the pictures from Bank, but imagine my surprise to see that Ms. Kido was actually sitting there, waiting for me to deliver this bad news.

Believe it or not, the newsroom is one of my stress free zones at school. It's just a small room since Ms. Kido works with mentally disabled students and they don't need a large class rooms. The school didn't have money to toss out so giving us a _real _newsroom dedicated _just _for the newspaper was out of the question. There are four computers on the far back wall, Ms. Kido's desk in the front, a row of desk filling up the middle, and two tables on the left wall devoted solely for the newspaper. I don't have my own desk that inputs a boss-like image in the minds of others, but I do have my own little basket on the corner of one of the tables. The reason I call the newsroom a stress free zone is because of the view. Ms. Kido snagged a room with a large window overlooking the football field, which is nice, but behind that there is a forest where you could see the top of the trees which is a great view in fall when the leaves are changing color. The view helps banish the stress caused by college applications, schoolwork, and actual work. Today, though, the scenery wasn't lessening the stress that was building up after Ms. Kido dropped the whole, 'we're-losing-funding' bomb.

""What?" I asked Ms. Kido, falling into an empty desk in the front. "H-How…" I shook my head. "Are we losing funding for the paper?"

"Not enough people are buying the paper and with so many budget cuts, the newspaper is nowhere near the top of the school's priorities list." Ms. Kido sighed as she massaged her temples. "The principal's been warning me about this for the longest time, but I figured we'd manage, but when the treasurer came up to me today and…" Ms. Kido looked me in the eyes and I prepared myself for the worst. "They might shut us down."

I was preparing myself for the worst, but I was _hoping _I wouldn't hear the worst. After the school stripped the Lit Magazine from me, I'll be damned if they try to take the paper-something I've devoted three years of my high school life to- away.

"How could we be losing funding?" I demanded to know. "Each member has the responsibility of raising a hundred and fifty dollars for the sole purpose that the paper _doesn't _shut down at a time like this. What about all _that _money?"

"That money is to be collected over the course of the year, used for next year," Ms. Kido clarified. "I'd be shocked if any of you even collected twenty bucks for the paper."

I decided not to comment on that. "What about the money we collected last year?" I was now up and pacing. "Where's all that money?"

"We used most of it to send three of the senior writers to prom last year since they were having financial problems and the staff here is such a tight knit family, we donated the money to them."

"Ugh…" It was great seeing Akira, Keiko and Seiji be able to go to prom, but that generous act is back to bite us in the ass. "How much do we have left over from last year?"

Ms. Kido picked up a sheet of paper off her desk. "We have… two hundred and fifty left." She offered an apologetic smile. "It won't even last us until the end of the semester."

I groaned as I deafeningly fell back into a desk again. "Great. Just great."

"I'd hate to leave you alone with this problem, but…" Ms. Kido was getting up from her desk, her purse over her shoulder and a stack of papers under her arm, "I have to leave early today for a conference with my daughter's teacher so…"

"It's no problem," I waved off, forcing myself to smile. "I figure we can hold a meeting tomorrow with the rest of the staff and sort things out." I nodded my head, liking the idea. "Yeah, that sounds good."

"You see," Ms. Kido said smiling, "decisions like these are what got you your editor position."

"I thought it was because I was one of your favorites."

"_Shhh_," Ms. Kido hushed me, raising a finger to her lips. "I'm not supposed to play favorites." She laughed as she headed towards the door. "Are you leaving?"

"Nope," I shook my head. "I'm meeting Bank for pictures of the last football game since Aki got distracted by the cheerleaders again."

"Teenage boys…" Ms. Kido said, shaking her head. "I can trust you with the privacy of my classroom, right?"

"Of course."

"Great. I'll see you tomorrow, Kagome." Ms. Kido waved as she left the room and me alone with the knowledge that the newspaper might be stripped away from me.

"It's all their fault." I mumbled to myself as I grabbed the papers from the small metal basket named, _'Editor—Kagome Higurashi'. _I always get a sense of pride when I look at it, but now all I can think about is how horrible that bin will feel when it won't have _'Editor—Kagome Higurashi' _taped to it all because the newspaper will no longer exist.

The hardest thing about the newspaper is trying to actually _sell _it. Not only do people think the newspaper is boring—I guess I'm not helping change that way of thinking—but _Shikon Times _has some _serious _competition with the announcement crew that gives people _daily _updates about school life without making them pay a dollar fifty or making them read; which teens don't like to do these days, apparently. And then they can have all these special segments, like teachers dancing in snuggies (disturbing) and little commercial-like segments for events like the dodge ball tournament and upcoming plays (both entertaining). It's hard to compete with a modern source of media though the newspaper has its own—announcements can't dish out gossip on the new transfer student— but most high schoolers are too cheap to buy a newspaper and too lazy to bother reading it. Some honestly don't give a damn about what's going on at Shikon High school. So, in other words, _The Morning Ribbet—_consequence of having our mascot be a frog, which I still think is stupid because who is going to be afraid of a frog?—is our biggest competition. So far, it seems they're in the lead.

"We should break a camera and put them out of business." I told myself as I picked up the piece of paper on the top pile I had retrieved from my basket, liking the idea more and more. "Then all the people will come running to the paper to stay in touch with what's going on at school and _Shikon Times _will become—"

"Did I miss her?" Bank asked as he came running through the door, searching the classroom for any sign of Ms. Kido. "Is she in the bathroom? Teacher's lounge?"

"She's going to meet her _daughter's _teacher," I told him, rolling my eyes at his half depressed look as he slumped into a chair beside me. "You and the rest of the male population at this school need to come to terms with the fact that Ms. Kido is married."

"Only when people start calling her _Mrs. _Kido, will I give up on my future wife." Bankoutsu declared and I just shook my head. Ms. Kido is undeniably the hottest teacher this school has. With her long orangey-red hair and sea-foam green eyes…and not to mention she has a _great _fashion sense. Half the guys on the newspaper staff joined just so they could be in contact with her since she doesn't teach regular classes. It's becoming a very common trend for guys to have crushes on Ms. Kido.

"Do you have the pictures?" I asked setting the article I was reading aside.

"I certainly do." Bank pulled a folder out of his bag with exaggerated flourish and dropped them on my desk and I opened the folder, nodding my head in approval at the shots he got.

"You do realize that if you had remained a part of the staff here you could see Ms. Kido every day without having to run across campus to try to see her before she leaves, right?"

"Kagome," Bank said with a flat face. I've been trying to make him regret leaving the newspaper ever since I found out he wanted to be on the yearbook staff. "We agreed that I'd keep embarrassing pictures of you out of the yearbook as long as you dropped this guilt trip you keep trying to send me on."

"I know," I sighed. "I'm sorry."

"And besides, I heard _Shikon Times _is going under."

"How'd you know that?"

"I was hanging around the office." Bank casually shrugged. That's it, I am spending my lunches in the office from now on. "So what are you going to do about it?"

"I don't know," I admitted, resting my head in my hands. "I don't even know where to _start."_

"How about a fundraiser?" Bank suggested. I snapped my head up and looked at Bank as if he were a god. He had taken out a bag of chips and paused one chip's journey to his mouth. "What?"

"Bank, you are a _genius!" _I reached over and hugged him, catching him off guard. "Now all I have to do is hold the meeting on what we should do for our fundraising event." I smiled, collecting my stuff with new found confidence. "You just lifted a huge burden off my shoulders."

"Now you're forever in my debt." Bank said easily standing with me and stuffing more chips in his mouth.

His tone made me suspicious. "What do you want?" Bank opened his mouth but I quickly cut him off. "I'm not doing anything embarrassing, illegal, or dangerous."

"I just need you to read over a few of my college essays," Bank said, looking at me as if I was crazy. "Calm down."

"Oh, I can do that." We walked over to the door and I locked Ms. Kido's room up. "You want to go somewhere?" I asked, knowing very well that Bank's house was always crowded with his six brothers and finding peace in there was about as easy as finding peace in a mosh pit.

"I would if I could, but I can't." I looked at Bank questionably. "I have to be at work in… five minutes."

"You work on the other side of town," I pointed out. "That's at least a twenty minute drive."

"I guess I'll be late," Bank shrugged.

"Didn't you have detention yesterday because you racked up too many tardies?" Really, I can't remember one time Bank actually _was _on time for anything. He even showed up an hour late for my birthday party last year. Two hours the year before.

"What can I say? I have an issue with being on time."

-x-

"…and now we have a meeting tomorrow to pick out fundraiser ideas." I told Sango through my cell phone as I stacked my little green basket full with cartons of strawberries. They're my substitute for coffee since I can't stand the bitter taste that's always left behind. No matter how much cream and sugar I dump in it, the bitterness never leaves. "I hate holding meetings."

"_Because you're bad at it?"_

"Bad at it?" I stopped picking up strawberries, about to drop my seventh carton in the basket. "I am a great speech giver! The problem is when you guys—"

"_Kagome,"_ Sango cut me off, _"you work about fifty different quotes into one paragraph. Hate to break it to you, but that's not a 'great speech giver'."_

In my defense, when I Googled _how to write a speech—_because I _suck_ at speeches_—_I came up with results that said I should use quotes because they 'are easy to relate to' and 'leave an impact'. "You would understand the meaning of my quotes if you all weren't _talking _when I'm trying to fill you in on _important _information."

"_I'm just saying try to minimize the amount of quotes you shove into your opening speech, okay?"_

"We'll see." I replied, grabbing two more cartons of strawberries before finally leaving the produce section. Because of my obsession with strawberries, my mom refuses to foot the bill which is probably the only reason I am working at _Shoe Carnival. "_Anyways, I called you to tell you about the meeting so you could pass it on to the staff through email since I'm working until eight tonight and then I have to write my Annotation Essay on _Great Expectations _and then I have to do Calculus homework and then—"

"_I gotcha'_," Sango interrupted. _"You got way too much work and you might forget to email everyone about the meeting."_

"Exactly." I was heading to grab some whipped cream-because who can have so strawberries without whipped cream? I can, but it's _much _better with whipped cream. "Oh, and text everyone too; they don't always check their email."

"_Alright. Do you need me to do anything else for you?"_

"If I'm going to stay up until midnight working, how many cans of whipped cream do you think I'll need?" I asked, staring down at the _CoolWhip _cans that lied in front of me.

Sango sighed. "_It would be more effective if you just got coffee to help you stay up."_

"I can't stand coffee, it's more addictive than cigarettes, and strawberries are healthier than coffee any day."

"_Not when you're drowning them in whipped cream to stay awake. Why don't you at least drink Mountain Dew? That's a great energy booster."_

"Maybe I'll grab a bottle at check out." I looked back down at the _CoolWhip. _"So how many cans for nine cartons of strawberries?"

"_Good Lord, Kagome! You're going to get yourself sick." _There was a pause where I suspected Sango was expecting me to comment but I stayed quiet. "_I'd take four, but not to use in one night."_

"Of course not." I grabbed four cans and carefully dropped them in my basket, making sure I didn't hit my strawberries in the process. "Thanks for the help Sango."

"_No problem." _Sango said and then she hung up.

I struggled to keep the items in my basket from falling over as I waddled down the aisle. It was a lot harder than I thought it would be, considering the basket was significantly heavier from when I picked it up last. I couldn't even hold the basket by the handles, and had my arms wrapped around the basket, securing it against my stomach as I tried to make it to check out in one piece. I have got to start using carts.

I was halfway down the aisle when I was blindsided by a toddler in the front of a cart as he grabbed a hold of my arm, tugging it, causing my secure hold on the basket to falter. The next thing I knew my stuff was splayed out on the floor, a few strawberry cartons opened up, letting the strawberries run free, and my four cans of whipped cream rolled down the aisle, one hitting someone's foot as it stopped.

The person bent down to pick up my can and I looked at him gratefully before the color drained from my face. _Shit._

"This," Inuyasha said as he walked towards me with my whipped cream in his hand, "is the most strawberries I've ever seen in one basket." He stopped in front of me, lifting his brows. "Are you in a baking contest, or something?"

As soon as Weight Management ended, I successfully avoided Inuyasha for the rest of the day. When I saw him in the hall I went the long route to class. At lunch, when I saw him at my usual table, laughing with Miroku and Bankoutsu, I grabbed Sango and dragged her to the library with me and I scanned the halls before I made a dash to the bathroom in the middle of History (there was a pop quiz). I have issues when it comes to facing embarrassing situations like, I don't know, Inuyasha knowing I have a 'sex addiction'. Just trying to disprove that is embarrassing. Do I just go up to him and say, "Hey, I don't have a sex addiction so I'm not going to jump your bones any time soon, no worries." That just doesn't seem right.

"No," I said, taking the whipped cream from his hand and dropping it in my basket, then crouching to pick up the few cartons that hadn't burst open and spilled their guts. "I just need a snack for later."

"Nine cartons of strawberries? For a snack?"

"They're like my energy booster," I explained, taking a carton Inuyasha handed to me. "Like coffee."

"Coffee actually has caffeine in it to help keep you awake." Inuyasha said as the order for a clean up on aisle six went off over our heads. "Why don't you just drink coffee?"

"Coffee is disgusting and causes more deaths than lung cancer," I bluntly stated. "Not to mention it gives you bad breath."

"Oh," Inuyasha said, a bit taken aback. "So you don't like coffee?"

"No."

"So, why strawberries?"

I sighed, picking up my basket—only five cartons of strawberries intact—and stood to face Inuyasha. It always took a while to explain why I had a bag of strawberries in the morning opposed to the cup of the ever popular coffee. "When I was younger my dad always drank coffee and when I asked him why he told me it was to help him stay awake at his boring job, but when I asked for some to keep me awake at 'boring school' he said I couldn't have any. Then when I kept complaining he told me that coffee was just something people drink to make them happy." Inuyasha raised his brows amused, but I decided to overlook it. "So, I told him that I loved strawberries and that they made me happy. After that he would have a bag of strawberries for me every morning right beside his coffee pot." I hooked my arm under the basket handles. "And that is why I substitute coffee with strawberries."

"Okay," Inuyasha said leaning back on his heels, nodding his head. "But I still don't get how that helps your energy."

"Apparently if you eat healthy, it gives your body a lot more energy." Inuyasha didn't seem to believe me. "The sugar in the whipped cream helps."

"Ah…" Inuyasha said nodding, before shooting me a lopsided grin that made my heart skip a beat. "Well, I was glad I got to see you again today. You seemed invisible for the rest of the day after Weight Management."

"Well…I am quite the busy body," I mumbled, stepping around him. "Busy, busy, busy." I picked up two cans of _CoolWhip _as the worker in charge of cleaning the mess came rushing by. "In fact," I said, backing away from Inuyasha and he just kept walking towards me, smirking, "I have to be at work soon so…"

"I don't think you have a sex addiction." Inuyasha bluntly stated and my face went up in flames. How can he just say that so…so _casually_?

"I-I…I n-never thought y-you thought I had a…a…" God, I still can't say it. And I'm turning back into a bumbling fool again. My face is as red as the strawberries in my basket. "I don't have a sex addiction." I mumbled, managing to get out in one sentence. "Hojo was just being an—"

"Ass," Inuyasha finished for me, shrugging his shoulders. "I know."

"Oh." I was running away from the fact that Inuyasha heard about the sex addiction rumor, which, as it turns out, he didn't believe. Now that I know all that running away I was doing felt…stupid. "Well—"

"Now you can stop avoiding me, right?" Inuyasha asked with a smile and I just nodded my head. "Good. It's nice seeing you around." he said with a smile as he began walking away, tossing a hand over his shoulder in a lazy goodbye. "See you tomorrow, Kagome."

All I could do was stare after him, dumbstruck, as he sauntered down the aisle and around the corner with an untouchable amount of swagger. Too cool to touch and too hot to keep your eyes off of.

_Damn._

-x-

The next morning when I walked into Calculus, reciting the speech I was planning to give to the newspaper staff in my head, Inuyasha was already in his seat, working on the warm-up written on the board. On my desk was a small Tupperware container filled to the top with strawberries.

"What's this?" I asked Inuyasha as I dropped my bag into my seat, lifting the container and turning it over in my hand for inspection.

Inuyasha looked up at me, before looking back down at his sheet of paper. "Looks like strawberries."

"Did you put these here?" I asked. In the back of my mind I wanted Dai to have magically found out about my little obsession and left these here as a little gift. In the forefront, I wanted Inuyasha to have left them here.

"Yep," Inuyasha nodded, not looking up from his paper. "Fresh from the Farmer's Market. The unfertilized fruit tastes even better."

"Hm." I peeled the top off and bit into a red strawberry, surprised at how sweet it was without any whipped cream or sprinkled sugar. "Oh, wow. That _is _good."

"Told ya."

"Thanks Inuyasha," I said smiling at him as I pushed my stuff out of my chair and claimed my seat. "It's really nice of you to do that for me." Nobody has prepared my strawberries form me since Dad died.

"It's nothing." Inuyasha shrugged off, but I didn't miss the way his lips curved up into a smile or the slight blush that painted its way onto his cheeks.

-x-

"Order! Order!" I demanded hitting my hand against the podium Ms. Kido had borrowed from the Drama department for our meeting. "We have _important _things to talk about."

"Yeah, like why we never have food at these meetings." Aki grumbled and I shot him a glare.

"And why we keep getting last minute memos," Kira, a reporter, complained. "I was supposed to have a date this afternoon, but I have to come here."

"Well too bad, so sad." I said and she shot me a nasty look. "Now, we—"

"Is this about the deadline again?" Shinji interrupted. "Because I could really use another week to get a better grasp on the local music scene."

"The deadline is still tomorrow, paper is published on Friday," I confirmed, ignoring a few groans, "No excuses."

"But Kagome—"

"There was a reason behind this meeting!" I shouted, effectively quieting the room. "We're losing funding." The room burst into pandemonium and it took a while to quiet them all down again. "There are budget cuts and the Newspaper isn't at the top of the school's priority list." I said, relaying what Ms. Kido had told me yesterday. "And because we sent Akira, Keiko, and Seiji to prom last year, the little money we raise each year has dwindled down to two fifty." A lot of people looked like they wanted to speak but kept their mouths shut. "So I called this meeting for two reasons: pick a fundraiser idea and to discuss ways to outdo _The Morning Ribbet."_

"Boo!" The staff called in unison except for a few confused freshmen, still oblivious t the rivalry.

"But we can't just come up with any ideas," I continued. "We can't just do a bake sale or car wash or…"

"Calendar!" Aki shouted from the back of the room and a few guys snickered.

"Absolutely _no _Calendar," I denied. "We—"

"But the Calendars for other clubs get so much money. We should just—"

"We don't want to follow other clubs examples," I cut Aki off. "We want to be original, unique, otherworldly."

"You mean weird?" Kikyo asked, unconvinced. Kikyo and I have this funny, friends-when-we-want-to-be-but-not-really relationship. It's a 'friendship' based off sarcastic remarks and mutual respect for the other's talent. Kikyo recognizes that I'm a good editor and I acknowledge the fact that, even though she runs in the popular crowd, isn't a _complete _bitch—I call her a semi-bitch—and as our advice columnist she gives good advice and is actually a _good _writer; as shocking as that is.

"I mean," I started, pausing in case someone wanted to cut me off again, "we need to bring something new to the table. We need to get the student body excited and ready to throw their money at us. We need… we need…" I looked over to Sango who was slowly shaking her head, warning me not to do it, but I can't resist such a _good quote. _Screw Sango. "We need to seek out new life and new civilization."—the room broke into groans—"To boldly go, where no man has gone before!" I finished, shouting over the groans. "Oh come on, it was not_ that_ bad."

"Quoting _Star Trek_?" Kikyo asked. "Really?"

"I'm actually surprised you knew it was _Star Trek.." _I mumbled, Kikyo's response was a roll of her eyes.

"What does seeking life and civilization have to do with fundraisers anyway?" a freshmen up front mumbled and a few surrounding people nodded their heads in agreement.

"It means we have to do something new and exciting," I clarified. "So, we need to think of ideas, set a date, pick a location… ask the principal for permission… make posters…" Sheesh, this is a lot more work than I thought it would be.

"Why don't we just ask the announcement crew to work it into their announcements?" a freshman asked, honestly innocent.

"Freshman!" A guy called from the back, followed by a few more, and the girl with short brown hair and glasses turned bright red.

"We never," I said through clenched teeth, hating just the mention of _The Morning Ribbet _in my safe haven, "go to _The Morning Ribbet _for _anything. _They are our competition when it comes to delivering school information and the reason we might be shut down. We _don't _like the announcements."

"Oh," the girl said blinking. "Sorry."

"Just as long as you know to never mention them in this room again." I assured her, forcing myself to smile. "Alright," I walked over to the whiteboard, uncapping a marker, "Who has ideas?"

"Calendar!"

"I already said that was out of the question." I countered immediately, pointing at Aki. "Rejected! Next?"

"A festival!"

"Too expensive!" I rejected. "Next?"

"We could sell something," someone I couldn't identify offered from the back.

"Now that," I said, writing the idea in a bubble on the board, "is a start. Now we just need to figure out _what _to sell." I drew lines out from the bubble and turned back to the staff. "What are we going to sell?"

"CDs!"

"Movies!"

"Handmade bracelets!"

I wrote down the ideas on the board even though I was rejecting them in my head. CDs and Movies were too expensive and it would take too long to make all those bracelets. "Any other ideas?"

"I heard some people like strawberries," Sango piped up, smirking at me. "Especially one's from the Farmer's Market."

"What?"

"Shut up," I told her as she started laughing and I moved on. "Next?"

-x-

_I used to just like strawberries because, yeah, they were sweet and they reminded me of my dad. It was a very nice to have that memory with me every morning, almost in a bittersweet way. But now… now I can think of Inuyasha too every time I eat a strawberry._

-0-0-0-0-0-

**Alright folks, that's what you have for chapter 4. About the fundraiser; thanks to the help of hanmajoerin, I've come up with an idea but I would really like your own personal ideas on unique fundraising ideas so I might be able to include some of your ideas in my Odd-Ball Olympics. Also, again thank to hanmajoerin's assistance, I have ideas for chapter 5 so it might not take me too long to update. I hoped you liked this chapter and please REVEIW!**

**~Kimiko888~**

**hanmajoerin has an evil plan to save the world. Now that she finished editing this wonderful chapter, she's going to figure out the physics…maybe.**


	5. Fundraisers

**Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or Erin or Midnight Blues. Erin is a hanmajoerin's character that she was so nice to let me use in this story and Midnight Blues is also the band name she thought up.**

**Okay, there are other stories I should be updating besides this, but I woke up this morning and decided I felt like typing and this is the only story that I knew what I wanted to happen so y'all lucked up and got an update. Yay! I hope you like this chapter!**

**Walking Tightropes**

**Chapter 5: Fundraisers**

_I think Bulletman is a great penname. It does a good job of hiding Dai's true identity, unlike D-man or anything containing his birthday numbers or phone number. The name reminds me of a superhero which is always cool and there really is a deeper meaning behind his name. My guess might have been wrong, but Dai chose Bulletman for a reason. I know it._

_And my opinion isn't biased!_

-x-

"He did it!" I shouted as I burst through the doorway for Calculus, waving the typed paper I had printed out this morning after it came in my email around. "He did it, he did it, he did it!" I skipped over to my seat next to Sango and dropped the paper on her desk. "He made the deadline and I must say, this is one of his most opinionated pieces to come. Truly, it's the best."

"Considering you say that about everything he writes, I'm not exactly convinced." Sango picked up the letter as she took a sip of her coffee from her thermos. Her eyebrows disappeared behind her bangs. "Popularity and its Confusion?" She asked, reading the title. "That's not exactly original."

"No, but the way he writes it… it's just amazing." I insisted, taking my seat. "He talks about how all the popular people 'inner date' and yet no one gets into a huge fight over their best friend dating their ex. It's like they're all dating to be dating and not to really fall in love. His best piece yet."

"I'll take your word for it." Sango handed me back the letter and pulled her Calculus binder out.

"Wait, aren't you going to read it?" I asked, taking it back and putting it carefully back into the folder I stored all his pieces in. "It's really, _really _good."

"And I'm sure it is, but I want to be surprised when I see it printed on this Friday's paper. The paper that won't _exist_ if you don't start thinking of fundraising ideas," Sango reminded me, effectively bringing me down from my high. "So did you think of any better ideas for the meeting tomorrow?"

All of the plans that we came up with yesterday were an absolute fail. They were either too pricey, required more time than we had, or were just not about to happen (Aki's ideas). So, I called for another meeting tomorrow since I had to work again today and make sure everyone turned in their pieces today for publishing.

"Um… we could… I don't have anything original," I admitted, slumping in my seat a bit. "If we could just get people out of the last half of their last class for some event we would make a _ton _of money."

"The principal is never going to go for that. He only lets us out for big sport events or if it's a fundraiser to raise funds for something national, not school related." Sango turned in her seat to face me. "As editor, you need to kick it into gear."

"I _am." _Sango raised a brow. "Okay, I will. It's just that yesterday I had all this homework and I was up editing a few more articles and then this morning Dai sent in his piece and it was just so amazing I kept reading it over and over and over again." I sighed. "It was just so good."

"I think the fact that you have a ridiculously overblown crush on this guy is clouding your judgment and messing with your _priorities. _You do realize there will also be no Bulletman if we don't save the paper."

And if there isn't a Bulletman I have just about no contact with Dai. "Okay. Save the paper, save Bulletman. I got it."

"Good. Now did you get any—"

"Who the hell is Bulletman?" Inuyasha asked cutting Sango off as he dropped into his seat, yawning and rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He looked… like he wasn't a morning person.

"What happened to you?" Sango asked bluntly, not believing in beating around the bush. "You look horrible."

"Searching for a band, looking for a job, staying up late to practice, homework…" Inuyasha counted off on his fingers. "Apparently all of that can really tire you out in the morning. So who is this Bulletman you have to save?" Inuyasha asked again, now looking at me.

"He is this _amazing _writer," I told him as I got the letter back out of my folder. "He has all these great opinions and his style is very admirable and he has—"

"A stupid name," Inuyasha cut me off, snorting as he looked at the closing of the letter. "What kind of name is Bulletman?"

"It's not a stupid name!" I defended, insulted that Inuyasha just dissed Dai's penname without even reading the letter which made up for the supposedly stupid name. "It has a deep meaning behind it."

"Really?" Inuyasha raised his brows and looked at me. "What is it?"

"It… It means…" There had to be a meaning behind Dai's penname. He wasn't the kind of guy who would just make up the first name that popped in his head because his creative juices weren't pumping at the moment. There is a meaning behind everything Dai did. There has to be. "It means that the way some stuff at this school happens is so frustrating and annoying and unjust that it makes him want to shoot himself sometimes," I made up off the top of my head. But Dai isn't that kind of guy. "Hypothetically speaking, of course."

"So because school's a bitch, he's going to shoot himself." Inuyasha nodded his head. "So the name means he's secretly suicidal-slash-depressed. Wow."

"I said hypothetically!" What if Inuyasha tells somebody else about my made up meaning of the penname and they tell more people and what if one of those people know that Dai is Bulletman? I would have indirectly started a rumor that Dai is suicidal or the type of kid to bring a gun to school! Definitely not the way to impress him.

"Don't pay Kagome any mind," Sango told Inuyasha. "She has an unhealthy obsession with this guy's writing."

"Well, his name is stupid but I can see where your obsession comes from." Inuyasha looked up from the paper and smiled at me, handing the letter back. "His writing is really good."

"Thanks," I smiled back. He may have completely drove Dai's penname into the ground, but at least Inuyasha recognizes Dai's writing talent.

"So why do you have that guy's letter to the editor?" Inuyasha asked, pulling out his calculus binder and slyly sliding Sango's homework off her desk when she was searching for a pencil.

"I am the editor of the _Shikon Times,_" I announced, sitting up in my seat straighter. "And this guy's piece is going in the paper for Friday. You should really buy one."

"Because we really need the money," Sango added. "Gossip Columnist," Sango answered Inuyasha's unasked question. "We're losing funding and all the money we saved last year was donated to the good cause of sending three seniors with financial problems to the prom."

"Yeah, so you should really buy." I emphasized.

"I'll think about it."

"Don't think, just do." I told him, dead serious, and Inuyasha just laughed, shaking his head. "No, I'm serious; I can't lose the paper my senior year."

"Okay, I'll buy one."

"If you pay 7.50 now we'll have you covered for the next five issues," Sango added, and I nodded my head. "And I won't tell Mrs. Muso you're copying my homework."

"Well, I guess I can't beat that." Inuyasha fished a ten dollar bill out of his pocket and passed it to me.

"I don't have any change," I admitted sheepishly. I looked over to Sango who just shook her head. "I can give it to you tomorrow if you don't need it to—"

"Don't worry about it," Inuyasha insisted. "Keep the change."

-x-

"_I figured out that we don't need to have a fundraiser," _Sango said through the phone. _"If we keep suckering people like we did with Inuyasha this morning, we'll be back on track in no time."_

"Too bad people aren't as nice as Inuyasha," I laughed. "And high-schoolers aren't the ones to be moved by a good sob story."

"_Screw teenagers then; we'll go after the teachers and PTA moms. I'm telling you Kagome, this is our Plan B."_

"It might be Plan A considering that is—" My phone started beeping. "Oh. Shoot. I got somebody else calling me. Get back to you after work?" I asked, opening the door to my car.

"_Sure. Oh, and this just in: Inuyasha got a job at the Bean Café and is working a shift tonight."_

"Why would I care?" I gave up asking how Sango knew all of this.

"_You might want to stop in for some coffee or something."_

"Bye Sango," I said, rolling my eyes as I switched to the other call. "Hello?"

"_Alright Kagome, I got the idea that is going to save the entire staff's asses." _ There was pause. _"Mud-fight. I mean, just think about—"_

"Bye Aki," I said, hanging up on him. I have already made up my mind to completely disregard every idea that came out of Aki's mouth. He's almost as bad as Miroku.

I pushed the door to Shoe Carnival open and stepped in; making sure my navy shirt was tucked into my khakis before my boss had a chance to yell at me again. The jingle of bells went off over my head as the door shut behind me and I made my way to the register which was empty. _Where the hell is Erin?_

"Of course you need a pair of shoes!" A voice that held forced enthusiasm laced with annoyance came from the back of the store. "You have feet, you need shoes."

"I don't know…" the hesitance was obvious in the customer's voice.

"If you didn't know, why the hell would you come to a shoe store?" The voice was flat. I just shook my head, trying not to laugh.

"Erin!" T.J's voice barked out, and I made sure to make myself look busy. T.J was a very bossy manager. "Please go back to the register and _I'll _handle the customer."

"Whatever," was Erin's response as she came into view from behind one of the high shelves of shoes. When she got to the register she said, "Apparently, I'm not people friendly enough to be one of the employees working the floor." She stood behind the register next to mine. "I'm just telling it like it is and not lying to the customer to get them to buy expensive sneakers when the cheaper ones may look ugly but have better support."

"And that is why you'll never be a salesperson; you're just too nice." I got out a pile of trivia questions from a shelf underneath the registers. "But you are a bit… grumpier than usual."

"Well, that's the consequence of having the guitarist of the band you're managing fucking quit!" T.J's head popped out from behind the shelf and he glared at Erin who in turn twisted her face in a strange way and rolled her sky blue eyes before turning back to me. "I mean, I would fill in and be the guitarist myself but my mom is being…" Erin sighed and closed her eyes, running a hand through her blonde hair stressfully. "My mom. You know, an evil bitch."

Ever since Erin's dad died from cancer her mom has been… out of it to put it in the nicest terms. Erin isn't one to talk about it too much but she doesn't hide the fact that her family isn't stable, from me anyway. And now that Erin's back from her latest visit with depression, I'm not going to press her for anymore than she's willing to tell.

"So Midnight Blues is looking for a new guitarist?" I asked for clarification. I started flipping through a few of the questions. "Should we ask what the first Lifesaver flavor was or a sports question?" We ask a trivia question every hour and if a customer gets it right they get to spin the colorful wheel by the registers to see what kind of discount they won themselves. That is the carnival side to Shoe Carnival.

"Lifesaver; all these macho guys might get the sports trivia too easily." Erin gave a forced smile to the mother-daughter duo walking through the door. "And we are looking for a new guitarist, preferably one who doesn't get a big head and decide he doesn't need a band and goes off for a solo career three days before a gig I had to do _a lot _of convincing to book. Jackass," Erin scoffed, grabbing a few trivia cards, reading one and shaking her head. "I swear they make some of these just to make us feel dumb."

"If you really need a guitarist, this new guy at my school is supposedly really good." Supposedly, since I've never actually heard Inuyasha play his guitar. "I could tell him and—"

"Oh god, would you?" Erin was looking up at me with her hopeful blue eyes. "_You_ would be a huge lifesaver if you could get him to come out tomorrow or Friday to Kouga's for practice. I mean, we'll probably have to do more covers than I'd like at the gig, but if he's a fast learner we might be able to fit in a few original songs in and save more for the next gig. If there is a next gig…" Erin snapped out of her rant. "So can you talk to him, like, tonight?"

"I, um…" Thanks to Sango I do now know where Inuyasha works. "Yeah, sure; I'll tell him about it."

"Awesome. Here, give me your hand." Erin grabbed my wrist and took my hand herself, grabbing a pen with her other, biting the cap off, and she proceeded to write an address down on my hand. "That's Kouga's address. And if it's not too much it would be great if he would look up a few of our songs on Myspace."

"No problem." I looked at my watch. "It's the top of the hour; would you like to announce the question or me?'

"I'll do it and you can take care of the customer. You know, since I'm not 'people friendly' and all." Erin said with a roll of her eyes as she grabbed the mike. "Hey all you Shoe Carnival Shoppers, it's time for our hourly trivia!" For someone who hates their job, Erin really knows how to fake it.

I turned to the customer and smiled. "Good afternoon ma'am, how's your day been so far?"

-x-

"You could go with… ferret racing." Erin offered drawing something I couldn't identify yet on the back of a receipt from her spot on top of the counter. "You have to admit, that's a really unique idea."

"Where am I going to get a ferret?" I asked, reaching for my bag that was under the register. We were closing up and I figured now was an appropriate time to ask Erin for her advice.

"I don't know," Erin shrugged, "but you're _considering _the idea." she pointed out in her sing-song voice.

"I'm kind of desperate."

"But think about it. You could have the people place bets on their favorite ferret and instead of winning money they'd win… something."

"I'll think about it." I hoisted my bag up on my shoulder and made sure my register was locked. "You need a ride?"

"Home?" she looked up from her doodling and looked at me as if I had lost my mind.

"No… anywhere."

"Nah," she shook her head, hopping off the counter. "I'm thinking about crashing at one of the guys' place tonight. And there's supposed to be a really good performer playing at Bongo tonight, you know how I'm a sucker for music." She winked and smiled at me, grabbing her own messenger bag from underneath the counter that I now assumed had clothes in it. She headed for the door and I followed in suit. "Bye T.J!" she shouted back to T.J as his bald head popped out of the storage room. "I'm going to miss your shiny bald head!"

"We need to talk about your customer services Miss. Chiba," T.J told Erin as he walked towards us, not even cracking a smile. Way too serious.

"I'm sorry, I was just a little tightly wound earlier, but my bestest friend Kagome," Erin wrapped her arm around my waist (her 5' 1" standing is too short for throwing her arm over my shoulder) and pulled me close. "Has saved me from all that stress by landing me a guitarist with _amazing _talent."

"Hey, I never said—"

"So, when you see me again on Friday I'll be good to everybody and greet them with a bright smile."

T.J just shook his head and walked back towards the storage room, not even knowing how to deal with Erin.

"That man is too serious for his own good," Erin said as we stepped outside. "He's not the best looking guy in the universe, but he might actually get a date if he changed that stoic attitude of his. It's so boring."

"You're just full of too much life," I told Erin and for a second her returning smile almost looked sad. But I could have been imagining it. We came to a stop by my car and I opened my door to get in but stopped and looked back at Erin. "You want a ride to the bus stop?"

"I want you to go talk to that guy so I can sleep in peace, knowing that I really have guitarist for this huge gig." Erin pushed me into the driver's seat gently. "I have legs; I can use 'em."

"Fine." I got in and shut my door, but rolled down my window before Erin could leave. "Just so you know, I never said Inuyasha was amazing, so don't' be disappointed."

"I think he'll be hurt when he finds out how little faith you have in him." Erin turned around and offered a hand over her shoulder as she walked away. "Until Friday!"

"Bye!" I called back, watching Erin's sloppy bun disappear before finally backing out of my parking space and heading towards the Bean Café. Wherever that was…

-x-

After driving around town in circles since I'd left the parking lot I finally made it to Bean Café. While Sango is great at picking up on gossip, her directional skills need some polishing; I finally pulled up in front of a tiny coffee shop at the end of a line of stores. I cut the engine and hopped out of the car, running through the door only a minute before closing time.

Inuyasha was at the register, wiping down the counter, and he sighed, probably annoyed that a customer had the nerve to slip in one minute before he got off. I completely understand the feeling. His hair was tied back and he had an apron tied around his waist and for some reason he looked even hotter. I suddenly wished I wasn't wearing my work uniform. Or that I had at least taken the time to un-tuck my shirt. Or let my hair out of its ponytail.

"Welcome to Bean Café, how can I…" Inuyasha's sentence trailed off when he saw me and I offered a small wave. "Kagome?"

"That's me."

"Wh-what…" Inuyasha looked around him quickly. "What are you doing here?"

"I-I'm sorry. Is this a bad time?" I looked around the small shop and just like I assumed, not many people were coming in for coffee at nine o'clock at night. But maybe he had one of those bosses who were really strict about not having friends over while working. Even if it was so close to closing time… "I just thought I could talk to you now since it was so close to closing time and…" I shook my head. "I'm sorry, I'll just leave and talk to you tomorrow morning or—"

"No!" Inuyasha cut me off. "I was just surprised," he announced in a lower voice. "I thought you didn't like coffee."

"I don't," I admitted with a sheepish grin. "But I heard the pastries here were to die for and I thought I'd give them a shot."

"You don't have to make up excuses to stalk me," Inuyasha said as he leaned over the counter a bit, giving me a smug smile. "I'm not going to issue a restraining order or anything."

"I'm not _stalking _you," I scoffed, with a roll of my eyes. "Don't be so full of yourself."

"You had to find out where I worked somehow, and considering I just got the job this afternoon, I have no choice but to assume you're a stalker."

"Sango told me before I went to work," I told him. He looked confused. "She's a gossip columnist. She knows everything."

"Oh." Inuyasha pushed himself off the counter and stood up straight, going back to wiping it down again. "So what brings you to my place of business?"

"I actually came here to tell you something. Something that I'm pretty sure you would consider to be good news."

"Okay, Kagome, the suspense is killing me," Inuyasha joked as he tossed the rag he was using into a sink that was behind him. "Please, by all means, share."

"Well… my friend that I work with is the manager for a band and their guitarist got a big head and left for a solo career and now the Midnight Blues are looking for a new guitarist since they have a gig Saturday and I kind of mentioned you were looking for a band to join and Erin told me—"

"Are you shitting me?"

"I, uh… no?" I shook my head. "Why would you think that?"

"So you're serious?" Inuyasha asked. "You're deadly serious?"

"Yes…"

"Kagome this is amazing!" Inuyasha shouted, reaching over the counter and pulling me into a quick hug. While quick, I wasn't expecting it to be so… warm.

"I got the address for where you should go for rehearsal and—"

"This calls for a celebration," Inuyasha declared, when he stopped doing his victory dance. "You like apple pie?"

"Love it."

"Great. We'll celebrate with some pie and coffee!" I raised my brows. "Hot tea for you." Inuyasha started moving around behind the counter, grabbing two mugs, filling one with a fresh pot of coffee that he must have been brewing for a cup to take home. He filled the other mug with hot water and dropped a tea bag in it. "You want sugar with your tea?"

"Yeah, but you don't have to—" He already ripped open three packets of _Splenda_ and poured it in my cup, grabbing a spoon and stirring it. "Thanks."

"No problem. Come back here," he said, motioning me around the counter before he grabbed the apple pie from the glass case and cut two pieces. He set them down on the floor beside his feet before grabbing our drinks and bringing them down to the ground with him. "Come on, sit down."

I crouched down and pressed my back against the counter like Inuyasha and stretched my feet out in front of me. There couldn't have been more than two inches between Inuyasha and my shoulder. I really wanted to close the gap.

"You were trying to tell me something else about the whole band thing while I was hopping around," Inuyasha spoke around a mouthful of apple pie, starting the conversation.

"Oh, I have the address for where you should meet them tomorrow." I showed him my hand, which Erin had written Kouga's address on earlier. "If you have a pen I could write it down…"

"Yeah…" Inuyasha reached his hand over his head and blindly searched the countertop for a pen. "Here you go," he said, handing the pen he had found. "Just write it on my hand so I don't lose it."

My cheeks burned suddenly. "Okay." I took his rough, calloused hands in my own and scribbled Kouga's address on Inuyasha's hand, blushing the entire time over the fact that our hands were touching. What was I, a middle schooler? "There you go."

Inuyasha looked at his hand and smiled. "I can't believe you did this for me Kagome." He looked at me and grinned and my heart skipped a beat. "You have no idea how much this means to me."

"It's just an address," I mumbled, looking down into the depths of my tea, unable to hold Inuyasha's gaze without going completely red. "Don't get all mushy on me."

Inuyasha laughed and took another bite of his pie, and we ate in silence for a while. "So…" He spoke up as he took the last bite of his pie. "How was your day today?"

And I sat with Inuyasha until 10:30 talking about my day.

-x-

"Rumor has it," Sango told me as we made our way to the newsroom the next afternoon for the meeting, "you went on a date with Inuyasha last night."

"Rumors are wrong as usual," I flatly mumbled, shoving my way through the horde of kids. How the hell does Sango know everything?

"Okay, not a _date, _but you were at the Bean Café with him until 10:30 last night eating pie and drinking tea and coffee."

I stopped and turned around, stopping Sango in her tracks. "Are you stalking me?"

"No!"

"Okay, do you have people stalking me, because you knowing all that is just making you look very suspicious."

"It's called talking to Inuyasha this morning while you were running late," Sango said as she walked past me and I followed after her.

"And he described it as a date?" I pressed, quickening my steps to keep up with Sango.

"No, I just said that to see how you would react." We came up to the newsroom and Sango let me in first before following. "Did you think of something to save us?"

"As a matter of fact, I did." I dropped my stuff in a seat next to the one Sango sat in and then dug my notes I drew up for today's meeting last night out of my bag. "Inuyasha helped me last night while we were talking."

"Oh…" Sango nodded her head but the look on her face said that she wasn't saying everything she was thinking.

"What?"

"Oh, nothing, just now you can't use your little 'I'm not going to date Inuyasha because I don't know him' excuse." I opened my mouth to counter but Sango continued. "If you can keep a conversation with someone for an hour and half you know them pretty well."

"I—"

"Alright Higurashi, can we get this thing started?" Kikyo took the seat in front of the desk that held my stuff. "I have somewhere I need to be and you're holding me up."

"No one cares about your pedicure appointment," I told her and the corner of her mouth twitched up into a half smile before she suppressed it. That is a standard hello for me and Kikyo.

"So I heard you're hooking up with the silver headed guy," Kikyo said. "Not bad. Of course, he has nothing on Naraku."

For some reason, Kikyo really does love Naraku who in my mind is nothing but a creep who is really good with making films. A few of his pieces were featured on _The Morning Ribbit _(hate them!) and everyone at school admitted Naraku had a talent. It doesn't take away the fact that he gives off a creepy vibe with his all black get up and just mysterious… everything.

"I'm not hooking up with Inuyasha," I told her, gathering my notes. "We're just friends."

"That know each other," Sango added and I rolled my eyes.

"I have a meeting to start." I walked up to the podium the Ms. Kido got from the drama department again. I had gotten all my stuff together by the time the last member slipped into the room and Ms. Kido shut the door. "Order! Order!" I demanded, and the room quieted down. "This meeting was called to deal with our fundraiser and the ideas—"

"Kagome, I think we should have a fashion show!" Aki called, and I fought to hold on to my patience. It wasn't a bad idea, actually. "Girls walking in bikinis… it would bring in so much—"

"I have thought about it and I've come up with an idea for the fundraiser," I cut Aki off. I don't know why I even had a little bit of hope in him. "My coworker was talking about holding a ferret racing event and having student lace bets and—"

"So you're going to let a few stretched out rats race to raise money for the paper?" Kikyo cut me off. "That's so stupid."

"No, but the ferret racing gave me an idea to hold an Odd-Ball Olympics." They all looked a bit confused, but interested. "We would all be contestants and we would participate in events like… a three-legged race, musical chairs, some kind of eating/drinking contest." They all seemed to be liking the idea. "And we could do something using the pool," I added, to get Aki's vote in particular. "We can make up a whole bunch of different events and then the student body will pay for a ticket, and if they want to they can bet on a staff member and… we'll have to think of something to give them but—"

"If a guy wins I'll give him a kiss on the cheek," Ms. Kido offered from the back and there was a round of agreement. "I'm sure that will bring in a good amount of bets."

"For real?" I asked and Ms. Kido nodded her head. "Okay then, now we just need an award for the girls…"

"A kiss from Inuyasha," Sango offered from the back and when I widened my eyes at her she shrugged but her smile was mischievous. "You're just friends and Inuyasha is all the single girls talk about; if we get him to agree, we could make a ton of money. You don't want the paper to die, right?"

Damn Sango. "There's always time to think of another prize," I answered, moving along. "I'll ask the principal for permission, some people can work on posters, other people can work on gathering supplies and the rest of us can think of more events." I drew three columns on the board and headed them _Posters, Supplies, _and _Events._ I turned back around to the staff. "Who's up for making posters?"

-x-

_Win the bet and get a kiss from Inuyasha. What the hell was Sango thinking when she threw that plan out there in the open! Like Inuyasha would ever agree to anything like that. At least I hope he doesn't. It's not like I can place bets since I'm competing… Not that I want to! _

-0-0-0-0-0-

**Finished! And it's all been done in a day. Again, hanmajoerin helped me come up with the idea for the Odd-ball Olympics but if you have idea for the events PLEASE SHARE! And if you can think of a way for the bidders to be rewarded besides a kiss PLEASE SHARE! And I was bored the other day so I started a playlist for songs that relate to/inspired me to write Writing Tightropes in hopes that it would help me get over writers block the next time I hit it so if you have any songs that you think relate PLEASE SHARE! You know, for the sake of more often updates maybe. So, now that I'm done with all that if you liked this chapter PLEASE REVIEW!**

**~Kimiko888~**

_**hanmajoerin says to get funky with the Odd-ball Olympics ideas! Let those crazy brains of yours get the creative juices flowing. Kimiko888 and hanmajo both agree that you readers & reviewers need to have fun! So think of your strangest ideas and REVIEW. **_

_**~hanmajoerin **_


	6. Prospect

**Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or any songs**

**Song: You're Gonna Go Far Kid… The Offspring**

**Guess who stayed up until 2:30 in the morning to get this typed for y'all so her editor (the still awesome hanmajoerin) could edit it when she woke up. I did, because I just love you all so much. And I don't think it was that long ago since I last updated, right? I hope not. But this chapter is fairly long so hopefully it makes up for the fact that I might have taken a while to update. **

**Walking Tightropes**

**Chapter 6: Prospect**

_I learned my lesson a while ago that alcohol is not something that should be taken lightly, and when the hangover hits it's not so much fun anymore. A bonus to remaining sober is that I get to remember all the amazing events and feelings of the night and not just let them disappear from my mind completely._

-x-

"I'll do it."

I could practically feel the color drain from my face as Inuyasha agreed.

"Really? Because, I mean, there are different events so you'll be kissing a lot of different girls; as in girls you don't know and I don't want you to feel sexually abused or anything."

Inuyasha laughed as he wrote down an answer for his homework (he was, again, copying from Sango). "I'll do it," he repeated. "I mean, you two keep telling me how important the paper is to both of you so, as a friend, it's the least I can do."

"How nice," I said with a forced smile. There was a lot less he could do to help out the newspaper that didn't involve swapping spit with a bunch of chicks.

"And what better way to make the transfer feel welcomed than to let him kiss a few girls?" Inuyasha added with a smirk and I rolled my eyes, hoping that all the girls he kissed were ugly.

"Oh!" Sango looked up from the phone she was hiding under her desk to text. "That is going to be used to advertise the prizes." Sango is on the poster committee. "Someone give me a pen," she demanded, snapping her fingers and I handed over my pen. Sango wrote the entire line down on her hand and looked down at it with satisfaction. "Perfect."

"So, how was your audition?" I asked Inuyasha, changing the subject as he handed Sango back her homework.

"It went well enough so I got in the band."

"So it was just… good and not outstanding?"

"Well, I always think I can do better but the manager was ecstatic." Inuyasha leaned back against the bar that connected his chair to his desk and smirked. "She was practically drooling all over me."

"Something tells me Erin wasn't drooling all over you. She's not really the type that would do something like that."

"There's a first for everything," Inuyasha said with another smirk. "She couldn't get over how amazing I was, how skilled I was, how my singing was great, and how I was a gift from above." Inuyasha sighed as if boasting about himself was tiring. "The girl's practically in love with me."

"I'm getting that you're embellishing on a lot of this," I deadpanned and Inuyasha just shrugged. "So how's the rest of the band?"

"They're pretty cool. Intimidating and over protective when it comes to their manager." I know exactly what he's talking about. The first time I met the band they were all towering over Erin, surrounding her like a group of bodyguards. They're great when you talk to them, but if you're just going by looks, they look like a gang, Erin being their leader. "Except the singer, Kouga. He's got some ego problems."

Sango snorted. "Look who's talking."

"No, I was just joking"—he wasn't—"it's amazing his head fits through the door."

"You'll warm up to him," I assured Inuyasha and he scrunched his nose up in distaste. "I, for one, think Kouga is great once you get past the cockiness. And he's a good singer—"

"The best," Inuyasha cut me off with a roll of his eyes. "He had to keep reminding me of that during practice."

"Kouga has plenty of likable qualities," I told him. "He's funny, caring, determined when he wants to be, and he's hot. He's smart, even though he forgets to show it sometimes."

"Sounds like you have a crush on him," Inuyasha said and Sango looked up from her phone to watch us both intently.

"Are you jealous?" I asked as a joke but the way Inuyasha stalled for a second made it more of a serious question, so I hurried on before we dove into _that _conversation. "Ayame is dating Kouga," I explained for him. "Again."

"Again?"

"They have a constant on-and-off relationship," Sango explained. "Ayame is always suspicious when it comes to groupies and when she flips out on Kouga he goes off and tells her to stop being so immature which is a really sensitive topic since Kouga's twenty and Ayame's seventeen. Well, then Ayame goes into her insecure bubble, wondering if she's overreacting and then proceeds to dump him before he gets the chance to do it to her. Give it a month at tops and the two will see each other and realize they can't go another day without the other. Give it six months and its happening all over again."

"Wow," Inuyasha said, looking a bit lost for words. "That sounds…"

"Like it is right out of a T.V drama?" I asked him and he nodded his head. "Yeah, that's because it _is. _But, that's Ayame and Kouga for you; all for the drama."

"They make a great couple though."

"They most certainly do."

"You and Ayame have such crazy dating backgrounds…" Sango sighed, resting her cheek in her hand. "It makes the occasional fights I get in with Miroku seem boring."

"I wouldn't say that…" I mumbled. There isn't anything boring about Sango slamming Miroku's face into his lunch tray every time she catches him checking out some girl who walks by our table.

"Wait." Inuyasha held his hand up, stopping conversation. "What's Kagome's dating background?"

"Kagome's background is quite—"

"So what songs are you going to play at the gig tomorrow?" I asked Inuyasha, cutting Sango off and shooting her a glare to which she responded by holding her hands up in a surrender-like fashion.

Inuyasha looked back and forth between Sango and me before realizing it was best to abandon the topic. "You'll have to come to find out." He decided, before turning to face the front just as the bell rang and Ms. Muso shut the door.

I was getting my textbook out from under my desk when something hit me in the side of my head. I searched around on the ground and found a pencil; Sango's pink mechanical pencil to be exact.

I looked up to ask her what she wanted, but I was caught off guard by the message she had written in all caps on her notebook that was she pointing at frantically.

**HE JUST ASKED YOU OUT IN DISGUISE!**

Three exclamation points… she wasn't nearly as excited as I was.

-x-

"Kagome, you lying _bitch."_

I stopped the movement of my smoothie in its straw mid-slurp and froze for a second in the entrance of _Shoe Carnival. _I never thought to hear those words from someone like Erin, one of my closest friends. Those words are reserved for my ex-boyfriends.

"_What?"_

"You lying bitch," Erin said again as I began walking towards the counter, sucking down my smoothie I had picked up from Smoothie King (strawberry-banana). She was smiling when she said it this time and I grew less suspicious. "You made it sound like Inuyasha wasn't going to be good when he is, like…" Erin moved her hands around trying to grasp the right word. "_Incredible! _God, he's just… so fucking amazing."

"Oh god," I mumbled, placing my smoothie down and putting my bag under the counter, "Inuyasha wasn't kidding."

"About what?"

"About the fact that you were drooling all over him. He says you're just this close to falling in love with him." I told her, bringing my thumb and forefinger together so there was only a centimeter between the two.

"I, Erin A. Chiba, do _not _drool." Erin scoffed, with a roll of her eyes. "He's just as bad as Kouga. They should get along. You know, birds of a feather flock together?"

"Wrong," I corrected her, hoisting myself up on the counter to let my feet dangle. "Kouga is the only one Inuyasha has a problem with. He can't stand his big ego."

"Well, being around someone just like you does bring your flaws into focus." Erin shrugged and I snorted.

"If he heard you say that he'd probably go crazy."

"That happens to people when they're forced to face the truth." Erin reached under the counter and pulled out a stack of trivia questions. "Are you coming tomorrow night?"

"I haven't heard Midnight Blues play in a while so I guess I can make an appearance. Besides," I sipped at my smoothie for a short pause to build up tension, "Inuyasha did ask me and all."

"What!"

I couldn't help but smile at Erin's outburst. I had been riding this high all day. I had no intention of even considering Inuyasha as one of the subjects in my journey to find love since he was just that much of a great guy and if I broke his heart it would kind of suck if he hated me. But since he's offering…

"Well, he didn't say the words 'will you come see the band tomorrow?', but he asked it in a cool… subtle way." I explained.

"Wait," Erin wasn't so hyped up anymore. "_How _subtle was it?"

"I asked what songs y'all were doing and he said, 'You'll have to come to find out'. It's such a classic I-want-to-ask-you-out-but-I'm-trying-to-be-cool-about-it line, he practically gave himself away."

"You think Inuyasha would use such a cheesy line to ask you out?" Erin inquired, not buying it. "He seems like the kind of guy who would ask you out straight forward."

I got that vibe from him too, but admitting to that would completely rain on my parade and I don't like soggy parades.

"The point is, he wants me to come," I said, wrapping up the conversation. "And if something happens at the club between us… well, I'll just go with the flow."

Erin sighed. "Look, I love you and I understand you're searching for true love, but if you dump Inuyasha flat on his ass we're going to have serious issues since he's now a part of Midnight Blues and you won't be able to avoid him like you usually do."

"One, I _don't _try to avoid my boyfriends, and two, I don't take victims." I sipped my smoothie. "They're prospects."

"Oh, okay, my bad," Erin said shaking her head sarcastically. "Point blank, I can't be completely on your side this time about the break up since I actually already like Inuyasha. Plus, he's a gift from Yaten. I knew that stinker was up to something up there in those clouds. He really was serious about wanting to keep the band alive." Erin looked me in the eyes to make sure I understood how serious she was and I did. If she was talking about Yaten like that, Inuyasha must really be like she says he is. "And another thing, you _do _avoid your exes. You just don't go running away when they talk to you to make it seem like you don't care that you broke their hearts to keep them from trying to get back with you."

"Yeah," I sighed. "Ayame says I'm pretty bad when it comes to breaking up."

"No shit."

"But, you know, if I really thought they were the one I wouldn't break up with them." I pointed out. "And what's the point of spending time with someone who's not the one?"

"You forget that I support you in your search for love." Erin argued looking up from the trivia cards she's currently flipping through to wink at me.

I simply smiled at Erin because she _is_ the only one that knew about Dai that did support me. Ayame and Sango understand somewhat, but they think I should completely forget about Dai as if he's a lost cause. They just don't see how _real _he is, how perfect. Of course, Erin doesn't support the _replacement _for Dai thing, but she doesn't tell me to throw him out of the picture either.

"Your reasons make perfect sense, but your way of ending a relationship needs some serious work.  
And," She narrowed her eyes at me in a warning look, "if you screw around with my guitarist we are going to be riding in some rough waters."

"I never have intentions to play around with the guys. That would make me a slut."

"And Kagome Higurashi is _not _a slut," Erin exclaimed, but she was smirking in a sarcastic way so I hit her arm. "It was just a joke!"

"Yeah, okay."

"Ms. Higurashi!" T.J's booming voice came from behind me and I quickly hopped off the counter, smoothing the wrinkles out of my shirt as he came to a stop in front of the registers.

"Yes?"

"You come into work five minutes late and instead of making up for lost time you sit and chat with Ms. Chiba." Erin just sighed and rolled her eyes; having heard this lecture over a hundred times by now. "We are running a business here; this is not a social event."

"I'm sorry," I apologized with my best humbled smile. "I will try to remember for future events."

T.J pressed his lips together, looking like he wanted to say more but he let it go. "Get to work, ladies." He mumbled turning on his heels and marching back to whatever it is he was doing in the back of the store.

"He should definitely fire us, but he just can't." Erin put her hands to her chest in a dramatic gesture. "He's showing us he loves us so much he just can't let us go even though we're horrible employees. It just warms my heart."

"What is wrong with you?"

Erin just grinned at me and laughed. "It's the top of the hour." She waved a trivia question in front of my face. "It's your turn to ask the question."

I read the question over while pulling the mike closer to me. "Who said: 'I am the president of the United States and I'm not going to eat any more broccoli'?" I glanced over to my co-worker, confused. "Am I supposed to be good at U.S History when I don't live in the States?"

"It's a funny line," Erin shrugged. "And the answer is George Bush. I knew that before I looked."

"I'm shocked."

"I am a person who is full of surprises."

-x-

"Wow Kagome, you look great!"

I smiled at Sango's compliment as I shut my car door, locking it. I usually am pretty faithful with my jeans and t-shirt, but I've been watching a lot of movies when I'm neglecting newspaper work and homework and when girls go clubbing they actually dress up. So, instead of throwing on a pair of comfy jeans and the first t-shirt I found, I put on a pair of form fitting dark skinny jeans, a white tank top with an off the shoulder band tee that hung loosely around my torso in a stylish way, and a pair of low black boots with a nice heel to them. I just felt like dressing up really; it had nothing to do with Inuyasha.

"Well, I decided I couldn't let this go to waste in the back of my closet."

"Mmhmm." Sango gave me a knowing look and I rolled my eyes.

"Why is it that you always assume I'm trying to impress some guy when I decided to dress up? I actually do like getting all fancy some days."

"I didn't say _any _of that," Sango offered innocently with her hands up. "You assumed all that on your own."

"Whatever." I dropped my keys in my purse and pulled out my wallet so I would have my ID ready when we got in the door. This was an 18 and up club, but the bouncer usually lets you in if you're turning eighteen this year so there was no need for a fake ID since neither of us were planning on drinking. "Is Ayame here yet?"

"She came with Kouga, the band, and Erin." Sango answered, linking her arm with mine as we started towards the door. "They'll meet us inside."

There wasn't a line to get in like they show in movies so Sango and I handed over our IDs and walked into the club. Lady Gaga's _Super Lover _was blasting and the strobe lights were practically blinding me with their constant flashing as we entered. I had distanced myself from places like these after I got completely wasted at a party last year and ended up with alcohol poisoning, having to crash at Sango's since her parents were out of town for the weekend. Going through experiences like that is enough to sober me up for life.

"I don't see them!" I shouted over the noise to Sango after we scanned the crowd for five minutes.

"They might be downstairs!" Sango shouted back. I didn't even know a downstairs existed, but Sango's been here a lot more than me with Ayame and Erin so she knows her way around.

Sango took my hand and pulled me through the mob of girls jumping around to the chorus and to a staircase in the back of the club that led to the basement. As we descended down the steps the music above faded, but was replaced with another drumming beat that was blasting in the underground club.

"There they are!" Sango shouted, pointing to our group of friends that were huddled by a booth in the far right corner. Erin was standing at the head of the table, Kouga, Ginta, Hakkaku, and Inuyasha filling the seats of the booth, Ayame enjoying her spot on Kouga's lap.

Erin looked up from the piece of paper she was pointing at and talking to the band about and smiled when she saw me and Sango approaching.

"About time you two got here," she greeted us as we came to a stop beside her. "We go on in an hour."

"You make it sound as if we got here with only a minute to spare," I told her. I caught Inuyasha's eye and smiled at him and he didn't hesitate to return it. "What are y'all talking about?"

"Just the songs they're going to do." Erin lifted the paper and shook it in my face for a second before placing it back down on the table. "Inuyasha here is talented enough and learned _three _original songs. Amazing."

Kouga sucked his teeth. "Don't build his ego up too much; he might leave us for a solo career."

"He won't do that," Erin dismissed the idea her face darkening dramatically. "Because if he did I would make sure that he regretted every single day of his life. The one rule about joining Midnight Blues is that you don't walk out on us. I made the mistake of forgetting to tell our previous guitarist, but I learned my lesson." Erin looked Inuyasha straight in the eyes wearing her serious face, the one that is rare to see her with. "You quit this band and you're dead to me—to us." Ginta, Hakkaku, and Kouga nodded their heads behind her. "This is a dream I'm trying to keep alive and if you try to ruin it I'll hurt you. You don't screw with this band, got it?"

Inuyasha didn't even seem taken off guard by the sudden seriousness in Erin's tone. "Got it."

"Good." Erin smiled and the heavy atmosphere instantly lifted. "Now y'all can go and mingle and I'll start setting up upstairs. And you," she pointed to Ginta, "have lucked up and get to help."

"But Eir," Ginta whined, using Erin's nickname pronounced like air, "I helped _last _time."

"And you loved spending time with me." She grabbed his hand and moved him off the booth, pulling him through the crowd of grinding bodies.

After that, everybody else began to abandon the booth. Ayame immediately dragged Kouga to the dance floor and, after talking Hakkaku up quite a bit, he and Sango followed after them.

And then there were two.

Inuyasha slid out of the booth and stood next to me, looking at the masses of dancers, sliding his hands into the pockets of his _perfect _fitting jeans. I crossed my arms for a second before uncrossing them and then crossing them yet again. I bit my nails.

"You like dancing?" Inuyasha asked nonchalantly.

"Not at the moment," I answered, still too nervous for some reason. "Too many people."

"Yeah." We were silent for a while. "You thirsty?"

"Parched."

After almost suffocating in the crowd of dancers, we made to the other side of the room where the bar resigned and I ordered myself a water and Inuyasha got a Sprite.

"You don't drink?" I asked as the bartender set our drinks down in front of us.

Inuyasha shook his head. "Never before a show." He answered, taking a sip of his soda.

"Oh." I sipped at my water for lack of anything better to do. I am unreasonably nervous. "So—"

"You look great," Inuyasha complimented, motioning to my outfit and I blushed. He was making my nervousness worse with his compliments.

"Thanks." I sipped more water. "Are you nervous?"

"Nope," Inuyasha denied with no hesitation. "I love performing."

I was going to start another bad conversation topic when, thankfully, a group of obviously underaged girls stumbled up to the bar in their short skirts and stilettos, laughing obnoxiously as they ordered five Sex on a Beaches. Annoying as hell they were, but they were the distraction I needed to try to get my thoughts together and calm down.

"I can't stand it when people come to watch bands but get trashed before the show even starts," Inuyasha said, glaring at the girls as they went back to the dance floor, drinks high above their heads. "What's the point of playing for a bunch of drunken idiots who can't give us any valuable feedback?" He shook his head. "Fucking assholes."

"Wow," I said blinking. I had never looked at getting drunk at bars like that at all. "You make me feel bad about all the times I used to get trashed at parties."

"Used to?" Inuyasha asked with a quirked brow. He titled his head to the side and examined me. "For some reason I just can't see you going to a party and getting wasted."

"It's the glasses," I joked and Inuyasha smiled at me. My contacts were bugging me again and I can't drive without visional aid so I put my glasses on. "But yeah, I used to go to parties all the time last year." Yoko liked to party, meaning Dai liked to party, meaning I had to go to all of the parties in case they showed up and got in a fight and I'd be there to pick up the pieces. When I look back on it now…it sounds more pathetic than devoted.

"What made you stop?"

Only the single most embarrassing night of my life. As said earlier, I got wasted and after standing on a chair—or was it a table?—dancing like a maniac, being drunk, I built up the courage to tell Dai I was in love with him, deciding to screw the fact that he was with Yoko. When I finally found a very blurry version of Dai I didn't even manage to get the '_I' _out of my mouth before I threw up all over him. Yeah; I had to hide my face for a month after that. And I got alcohol poisoning and the worst hangover in the universe.

"Alcohol poisoning," I told Inuyasha, leaving out everything else. "What a bitch."

Inuyasha seemed to be thinking it over "Nope, I just can't see it."

"Well, believe it." I sipped my water. "Do you know the song Shots by LMFAO?"

"Vaguely," Inuyasha answered looking confused. "Why?"

"Well, at the party where I decided to quit alcohol all together after a horrible experience, they played that song and I took a shot for every time they said shots." Inuyasha looked shocked and I nodded my head. "I was definitely 'fucked up'"

"You're shitting me," Inuyasha laughed with uncertain disbelief. "You have got to be shitting me."

"Bank has pictures." Then I processed what I just said. "But I'd prefer if you didn't see them. Ever."

"They say shots like…" Inuyasha counted on his fingers while he mumbled the lyrics to himself. "That's thirty-two times in just the chorus!"

"Yeah," I nodded. Those were the days I was really stupid. And the timing of the party wasn't the best. "But the shot glasses weren't as big as normal ones since they were all souvenir glasses the girl's parents had brought back from vacation. They did do enough damage though when you down over sixty."

"How'd you not die?" Inuyasha asked, looking more worried than curious and something tightened in my chest.

"The Higurashi family can hold their liquor," I said, patting my stomach. "But that was the second worst day of my seventeen years of life. I only remember a few things, like Christina Aguilera's Woohoo while standing on top of a table."—did not help disprove the rumors of people calling me a slut—"Sango and Bank filled me in on the rest with descriptive details and photos." Instead of stopping me, I have the kind of friends who are useless when they're drunk too, choosing to take pictures instead of pulling me down and saving my sorry ass.

"Damn Kagome," Inuyasha mumbled, his emotions so mixed that his expression was unreadable.

"Yeah… so I've sworn off alcohol after that." I lifted my glass of water, bringing attention to it. "So, that was an example of having to learn things the hard way. Alcohol is bad. I can tell you that I hang on to my mom's every word now." Minus, the whole sex talk (please forgive me!). "I've never smoked. Like anything."

"Well I'm glad you made it out okay." Inuyasha took my hand in his, stroking my knuckles with his thumb gently. He smiled one of his killer smiles and continued to say, "I never would have had the chance of meeting you."

I should stop this right now. I should pull my hand away from his, get off this bar stool and go to the bathroom where I can throw some water on my face to get my act together. Inuyasha had pulled a total "player" line out of the hat and that should be my sign to completely stop the blush that was rising on my face, the flips in my stomach, the dryness in my throat, and the uncontrollable beating in my chest. I just don't deal with players because they're a waste to include in my search for true love.

And I definitely don't agree to dance with a player when he smiles and offers his hand to lead me to the middle of the dance floor.

And yet I am.

-x-

"I do all this work to get the band playing, and this facility has the nerve to delay the show _thirty minutes,_" Erin huffed, crossing her arms from her seat beside me at the bar upstairs where we had a good view of the stage. "Do you know that people actually leave if the band doesn't start on time? Stuff like this just pisses me off." She shook her head. "Very unprofessional."

"You can calm down Erin," I told her. "They're about to start."

"Yeah, thirty minutes late."

"Watch them cut their set short because it's going too long." Ayame seethed, crossing her arms as well. Those two are very serious about the band. "Assholes."

"I second that."

"Don't be such party poopers!" Sango shouted unnecessarily loud. "These guys are… are going t-to be _WILD! _And the crowd is…is going to be wild and me? I… I am going to be _sooooooo _wild. Wild." She nodded her head, taking another slug of whatever it was she had in her cup.

"Yeah, I'll drive her home," I assured Ayame and Erin and they nodded their heads. Somehow, even without a fake ID, Sango got her hands on some alcohol and now she's pretty tipsy. Inuyasha wouldn't be impressed.

The music stopped playing and the people on the dance floor stopped moving and looked around for a reason.

"Alright we're going to take a little break from the dance music," The DJ spoke into his mike, "and entertain you with some live music from a local band named Midnight Blues!"

There was a scattered applause as the crowd turned their attention to the stage where all four of the guys were standing.

"Don't _worry," _Sango assured us as she leaned against the bar. "The crowd will get wild soon. Real wild."

"That's not much assurance coming from a lush," Ayame mumbled and we all laughed before Erin shushed us as Ginta started his light tapping on the symbols, starting them off before everyone joined in quickly and Kouga started singing.

_Show me how to lie__  
__You're getting better all the time__  
__And turning all against the one__  
__Is an art that's hard to teach_

"I _love _this song!" Sango shouted and the majority of the crowd seemed to agree with her, instantly warming up to the beat and banging their heads, throwing their hands up.

"Starting off with a cover," I said, turning to look at Erin who was smiling which obviously meant she was proud of the band, "Very clever."

"Of course. You always start off with a familiar song to get the crowd used to you before you start bringing out new stuff that they never heard before." She said just loud enough to be heard over the music as Kouga started the chorus.

_Now dance fucker dance__  
__Man he never had a chance__  
__And no one even knew__  
__It was really only you___

_And now you steal away__  
__Take him out today__  
__Nice work you did__  
__You're gonna go far, kid__  
_

I had seen the original members of Midnight Blues play a thousand times before so it wasn't much of a surprise to see that, yes, they were really good—Erin wouldn't invest so much time in them if she didn't think they would go far—but I have never seen Inuyasha in action and he was really good too. I don't know much about music when it comes to all the technical stuff, but you could tell by the way his fingers moved skillfully over the strings, the intense look on his face, and how lost in the music he was as he opened his mouth to sing back-up that Inuyasha was more than just good.

_With a thousand lies__  
__And a good disguise__  
__Hit 'em right between the eyes__  
__Hit 'em right between the eyes__  
__When you walk away__  
__Nothing more to say__  
__See the lightning in your eyes__  
__See 'em running for their lives__  
__  
_"I told you," Erin began, grinning, as she kept her prideful eyes on InuYasha. "A gift from Yaten."

-x-

"Y'all were _amaaaaaziiiing!" _Sango complimented them when we met up after their set. "The crowd was just, like… like…"

"Wild?" Erin answered for her and Sango nodded her head enthusiastically. "You need a little work on a few songs, you were falling behind a bit Ginta, and you played a few wrong notes, Inuyasha, but y'all were good." She smiled at them. "Really good."

"Take notice that she had nothing to say about me." Kouga pointed out and I didn't miss the roll of Inuyasha's eyes, as Erin and Ayame both punched him in his arm. "Hey!"

"Okay, so we're going to start packing up the stuff," Erin announced, grabbing Hakkaku's wrist, much to his dismay. "I'll see you guys tomorrow at practice. Don't be late!"She called over her shoulder as she disappeared into the crowd that was back to grinding to the beat of a pop song that played overhead.

"She's the one who's always late," Ginta mumbled. "Except when she crashes at your house, of course."

"Well, she's not welcomed tonight." Kouga smiled broadly as he draped an arm over Ayame's shoulders, not the one for subtlety. "I'm celebrating an epic performance," he said, and Ayame turned bright red.

"TMI!" Sango shouted obnoxiously as she leaned against me for support. "God. I thought you… you weren't going to let me drink, Ka-go-me."

"I'll take you home soon." I assured her. "Ginta, can you go lay her down in a booth or something?"

"No problem." Ginta peeled Sango off my shoulder and wrapped his arm around her waist, leading her through the crowd to a table nearby.

"Don't hate her," I told Inuyasha when we were alone again. "She really wasn't planning on drinking, but I guess something happened…"

"I can't really refer to my friends as fucking assholes." Inuyasha sighed as if he was hurt by the fact that he couldn't hold Sango to the name. "But her hangover will be my secret pleasure as an act of revenge for putting me in the paper."

"Oh, don't be so insulted. You're obviously pretty interesting if Sango thought to do her column on you." I looked up at him and smiled. When Inuyasha came to the lunch table, waving a copy of _Shikon Times _in his hand, he wasn't too happy about the fact that he was featured and a bunch of people were giving him long looks in the hall. "You should be honored."

"To have a bunch of girls knowing where I work, my schedule, _and_ my hobbies?" He was attempting not to smile as he said all this and I started to laugh. "No thank you."

"Hey, party people!" I turned around to see Erin skipping over to us. "How goes it?"

"There's no possible way you're done already," Inuyasha said, looking over at the stage to see the equipment still up. "What happened?"

"Oh, well Hakkaku was doing a lot of complaining so I told him he would receive a real punishment by having to pack all the stuff away by himself!" Erin's voice was absolutely ecstatic. "I don't expect him to be complaining anymore after tonight."

"You're such a tyrant," I told her and she shrugged her shoulders, scanning the crowd before her gaze locked on somebody.

"Oh Shit."

"What?" I asked, turning to see Erin staring at something in the distance.

"It's Failure #15. I wasn't expecting him to show up."

"Who?"

"My ex," I told Inuyasha. Erin counted them off by numbers, as if they all had labels on their head. She said it wasn't worth knowing their real names because she didn't like the majority of them and if she named the ones she did like, it would cause her to lose count.

"He wasn't pleasant," Erin mumbled, glaring at Failure #15. "When y'all were dating and after."

"Yeah…"

I dated Ryuuji around the end of sophomore year, beginning of the summer and he was kind of… pushy. I was still a virgin then but he really wanted to change that. So, when I kept on refusing, he wanted me to send him a naked picture of myself to him so he could 'imagine how great it would be when it really happens'. It was the most degrading request I have ever heard in my life. It creeped me out beyond belief and I would _never _do that so I dumped him. He got really mad after that and started spreading rumors and harassing me… it took a while for things to finally start cooling down.

"What happened?" Inuyasha asked looking at me and then back to Ryuuji who was laughing with a group of friends.

"It's not—"

"The guy's a fucking prick, that's what!" Erin grounded out before I could completely dismiss the topic. I didn't want Inuyasha to know. "He demands Kagome to send him a picture of herself naked and when she refuses he blows crap like, 'I thought you would be happy since you're the easiest smart girl in Japan'" I watched Inuyasha warily as his eyes narrowed and hands turned into fists. "And then he has the nerve to keep coming back to Kagome, saying more stupid shit and once he grabbed her and tried to—"

"Erin!" I cut her off, and it looked like she had snapped back to reality.

"Sorry," she mumbled, giving me an apologetic smile meaning I-didn't-mean-to-spill-something-you-didn't-want-spilled. "Point is the guy's a dickhead that deserves to burn in the pits of Hell."

"You don't have to worry about—"

"Excuse me for a sec," Inuyasha bit out through clenched teeth, not hearing a word I said. "I'll be right back." He told us, pushing by and heading towards Ryuuji.

_Shit._

Erin and I watched as Inuyasha approached Ryuuji and tapped him on the shoulder, his other hand curled tight into a fist by his side. The second Ryuuji turned around Inuyasha threw what looked like a super punch packed with demonic power and laid him out.

"Yep," Erin said, nodding to herself. "I definitely like this guy."

"Bank punched Ryuuji too…" I mumbled. And Sango and Ayame attacked him one day, even Kikyo sent some guy after him—which was really nice considering she is Kikyo after all.

"Yeah, but Inuyasha's only known you for a week." Erin turned to me. "That's some promising material."

-x-

"Okay, just watch your head." I eased Sango into the passenger seat of my car as she held one hand to her head.

"My head is already killing me," she moaned, resting her head against the headrest. "I am going to kill you for letting me drink. You should sleep with your eyes opened."

"You brought this on yourself, Sango." I told her and she only moaned, shooing me away with her hand as she reached to close her door.

I jogged back around to the other side of my car where Inuyasha was waiting. He had agreed to drive Sango's car over to my house and then catch a ride home with Ginta and Hakkaku and Erin who would also be following us. We had gotten kicked out the club earlier than we planned thanks to Inuyasha starting a huge fight. But I did like the fact that he stood up for me, even though the issue is about a year and a half old.

"You think you can handle a drunken teen all by yourself?" Inuyasha asked as he opened the door for me. "I mean, knowing your history as a teen alcoholic too makes me worry for Sango's safety."

"Your concern isn't needed," I said, rolling my eyes as I slid into my seat and Inuyasha closed my door and I rolled down the window. "But it is greatly appreciated."

Inuyasha shot me a grin. "So you never did tell me what you thought about the performance."

"The musical performance or the brawl?"

"Ha ha," Inuyasha deadpanned, but his eyes were shining and it made me smile. "I'll take your opinion on both," he decided, leaning in so he was closer to my window.

"Well, for the musical performance, I thought y'all were amazing and I can see why Erin might have been drooling all over you."

Inuyasha smirked, nodding his head. "And for the brawl…"

"As for the black eye Ryuuji will probably have come Monday?" He still kept his smirk, waiting in anticipation. "It meant a lot to me that you stood up for me. Ryuuji really had me messed up for a while after I went out with him"

Inuyasha's smirk turned into a full, 200-watt, heartbreaking smile then and my heart stopped for a second. He leaned in a bit closer and I was sure he was going to kiss me, but he lifted his head at the last second, stepping away from my car, patting the roof twice.

I was pretty disappointed.

"The guy pretty much deserved it," Inuyasha said with a shrug as if it were nothing. "You don't deserve that, Kagome."

Despite my disappointment I couldn't' stop myself from smiling. "Thanks."

"Yeah, no problem." He slid his hands into his pockets and rocked back on his heels, looking up at the sky and I could only look at him. Stare at how perfect he looked in that one instant and I wished I didn't have to drive home right then.

"So I'll see you Monday?" He asked as I turned the key in the ignition and put my car in reverse, already inching out of the parking space.

"Maybe tomorrow."

-x-

_I'm not doing anything wrong with Inuyasha. I'm not looking at him as a possible replacement for Dai, no. I'm just not stopping where our relationship might go. Really, would it be that bad if I ended up dating Inuyasha?_

_I didn't think so._

_**-0-0-0-0-0-**_

_**That's it! I'm going to keep this ending note short since I have school in the morning and I didn't do the reading for AP Psych where there is a 100% chance I'll have a quiz on, but I wanted to update. And I don't enjoy homework (yeah, shocker there.) So I will be taking requests for possible songs the band or Inuyasha could perform so REQUEST AND REVIEW! Thank you.**_

_**~Kimiko888~**_

_**Uhhgg, hanmajoerin has school again! Anyhow, another great awesome chapter with Kagome being epically attracted to the ego filled InuYasha. Bet y'all can't wait for another one. **_


	7. Breakfast In Cars

**Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or any songs**

**So I decided to write this because I wasn't getting enough fluff so I had to create my own. The Surfs Up Soundtrack just has to be in this because my sister found the movie in her room and I watched it about three times this week. Please enjoy this chapter and review when you finish! And i must thank hanmajo for being hmm... how should I put it... amazing? terrific? WONDERFUL? I just don't think a simple THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR EDITING! can express my gratitude.**

**Walking Tightropes**

**Chapter 7: Breakfast in Cars**

_Dear God,_

_I know I prayed to you many times for the perfect guy after Dai broke my heart, but I never really expected you to come through for me. I guess that really questions my faith in you and I should probably repent on that in the near future, but really—you did too well. Choosing between having Inuyasha as a friend and risking that friendship by trying to date him is a really tough decision and you know how indecisive I can be._

-x-

"And where the hell have you been?"

"Out," I answered Sango when I walked through the back door that led into the kitchen.

"Out? _Out? _How can you just leave me here, hung over, to wake up in a strange place? Do you have _any idea _how freaked out I was to wake up on the floor? If it wasn't for your fat cat sitting on my face I would have had a panic attack from not knowing where I was!"

"Buyo isn't fat," I said, dropping my keys and the cup I was carrying on the counter. "He's a very healthy size and those few extra pounds keep him warm in the wintertime."

"Okay," Sango said, rolling her eyes. "But seriously, where were you?"

"I had to meet up with somebody." I was trying to be as evasive as possible because the second Sango finds out I was with Inuyasha I would never hear the end of it. I really wanted to keep the promise I made last night. "Oh, I got you some coffee."

"I would question you further, but I'm still a bit hung over and I need my morning dose of caffeine." I picked the cup up off the counter and set it down in front of Sango and she smiled at me. "Thanks a bunches!"

"I think you're still a bit tipsy." I took my jacket off and dropped it on the back of my chair and sat down across the table from Sango. "I was hoping you would be ready to go when I got back. We're making posters at Kikyo's to put up tomorrow, remember?"

"I do. I was just about to raid your closet when I heard your brother watching SpongeBob and I decided to join him." Sango lifted the cup to her lips about to drink it. "I hate that high school busies me to the point where I can no longer enjoy Sunday morning cartoons."

"Drink your coffee and get dressed."

"Yes ma'am," Sango said with a mock salute before tilting her head back and drinking the coffee. A second later coffee was being sprayed all over the table.

"I'm not cleaning that up."

"Why is it _cold?" _Sango asked, scrunching her nose up.

"Sorry about that. I meant to tell you to heat it up in the microwave but I forgot." I met Inuyasha at the Bean Café this morning because he works Sunday mornings. Yeah, I ordered the coffee right before our hour long chat, which is the reason why Sango's coffee is cold.

"You can't just put coffee in the microwave Kagome. You either have it freshly brewed or not at all."

"Excuse my lack of knowledge in the coffee department; hurry up and get ready. We'll pick up some breakfast on the way to Kikyo's house."

"Fine," Sango sighed as she got out of the chair. "But next time you decide to have breakfast with Inuyasha, leave my coffee out of it."

"How'd you—"

"Honestly, Kagome?" She picked up the cup and turned it around so I could see Bean Café's logo of a dancing bean. "It doesn't take a genius."

-x-

_But I cannot forget__  
__Refuse to regret__  
__So glad I met you and__  
__Take my breath away__  
__Make everyday__  
__Worth all of the pain that I have__  
__Gone through__  
__And mama I've been cryin'__  
__Cause things ain't how they used to be__  
__She said the battles almost won__  
__And we're only several miles from the sun_

Except the sun wasn't showing at all right now; it was _pouring _outside. The rain is being absolutely relentless today and since I got to school so ridiculously early I decided to just sit back and read in my car to the sounds of Maroon 5. It's a good way to begin what's starting to look like a dreary Monday.

I had just hit page 100 of Goth Girl Rising (it came in the mail Saturday and it is _amazing. _Barry Lyga rocks my world) when there was sudden pounding on the passenger's side window completely ripping a hole through my peace. I screamed and threw my book in the air and almost hit my head on the ceiling from the shock. I turned ready to yell at Sango/Bank/Ayame for scaring the crap out of me, but I was pleasantly surprised to see Inuyasha waving at me through the window, getting soaked by the rain. I quickly unlocked the door and he slid into my car.

"I," he said, pulling his hoodie up over his head, "am soaked."

"You are and I really appreciate you wetting up my seats." I picked my book up off the floor and marked my page with my bookmark. I reached behind my seat to grab my book bag, shoving my book inside and tossing it back in the back seat. "Is there a reason you were standing in the rain by my car?"

"Yep." Inuyasha pulled his book bag off his back and unzipped it, searching for something. Everything inside looked fairly dry compared to his clothes; he probably has one of those good quality book bags that don't get your papers ruined in the rain. He unzipped the front part of his book bag and pulled out two bottles of orange juice and a takeout bag from WacDonalds. "Thought we could have breakfast together."

I didn't know what to say. I really wanted to just hug him, but I had the thought that somewhere Sango was standing under an umbrella with Bank, demanding him to snap pictures of us or Hojo was somewhere plotting Inuyasha's demise. Nonetheless, my heart still picked up the pace and a warm feeling exploded in my stomach. I almost sighed, but opted for grinning like an idiot instead.

"And how did you know what I wanted?" I was trying to come off as casual but masking my immense joy was harder than I expected; probably because I wasn't expecting to be this happy.

"I just got what I liked and hoped you'd like it too." Inuyasha pulled out what looked like two wrapped up biscuits and a carton of French toast. "Egg and cheese croissant, egg, cheese, and sausage biscuit, and French toast," Inuyasha said pointing to each of my options. "Take your pick."

I grabbed the egg and cheese croissant and laughed at the way Inuyasha's ears drooped a bit. "If you really wanted it you should have called dibs!"

"I was trying to be a gentleman and give you first pick, buy you took advantage of my chivalry." Inuyasha grabbed the biscuit and started unwrapping it. "Split the French toast?"

"I get three sticks and you get two," I mumbled through a mouthful of food.

"Fatty," Inuyasha mumbled under his breath and I hit him in his arm, causing his biscuit to miss his mouth. "I am trying to eat here."

"You shouldn't call girls fat," I told Inuyasha, turning in my seat to face him and pulling my leg up to tuck my knee under my chin. "It can lead to self consciousness and paranoia about our bodies which could lead to eating disorders." I took another bite of my croissant. "Lucky for you, I'm a person with a strong spirit so you don't have to suffer the guilt of turning another girl anorexic." I reached down for my orange juice that Inuyasha had placed in the cup holder and leaned back on my door. "But I do a good job staying in shape anyway."

"Oh yeah," Inuyasha snorted. "I see the pushups you and Ayame do in Weight Management."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"It means you two might do one set of real pushups then you half-ass the rest and talk _the entire time."_

"Then maybe you should stop listening to all our _lady talk_. And don't tell Miroku what you hear either. It's bad enough you have super hearing." I reached over to give his ear a playful tug but I was caught off guard at how soft it was. It was wet too, and felt like the finest silk ever made. "Wow," I mumbled still stroking his ear. "That's really soft."

"I won't move my head if I get three french toast and you get two." I paused for a second. "Really, Kagome? You have to think about it?"

I laughed and pulled my hand back. "I'm really hungry this morning."

"Most girls usually fall for the ears."

"Yeah, well," I took another bite of my croissant, "I'm not like most girls." But I would have definitely kept my hand there if I had more faith in my self control and if I didn't think Sango and Bank were out there standing in the rain.

"No, you definitely aren't." Inuyasha smiled at me and I bit my lip to keep from grinning like an idiot again. He popped the carton of French toast open and started peeling the top of the syrup back. "How about we split this 2.5 and 2.5?"

"And you're going to split the odd one out evenly?"

"To the best of my ability, yeah."

"Wait." I reached back behind my seat to grab my bag again and shuffled through it. "I think I have a ruler in here so we can measure it just to be exact."

Inuyasha's entire face fell. "Are you serious?"

"No!" I laughed, throwing my book bag on the floor by my feet. I glanced at the clock on my dashboard, finishing off my croissant. "We only have about ten minutes before the bell rings."

"That's plenty of time." Inuyasha dipped his French toast in the syrup and pit into it, oblivious to the drop of syrup that landed on his shirt. "Maroon 5," Inuyasha commented as Must Get Out started to play. "Not bad."

"I take pride in my music selection."

"You have any more CDs?"

"Yep." I tapped the armrest where our food was resting on. "If you move the food you can examine it."

Inuyasha started moving the French toast and tossing our wrappers in the bag and he placed it on the dashboard in between us. He lifted the armrest and stared down at my CDs, frowning a bit.

"Kagome, you only have five CDs."

"So?" I reached for another French toast stick and dipped it in the syrup, careful not to spill it on my favorite Dexter's Laboratory t-shirt. "I said I had more CDs not a large variety. Most of my songs are on my iPod and that's at home charging."

"I don't really like iPods," Inuyasha confessed. "They completely take away the thrill of going hunting for an album and the satisfaction you get when looking at the racks of CDs in your room. Now, all you have to do is go online and pick out the few songs you like. You're not really expanding your horizons to the artist's other music if you're just downloading the songs you've heard by them before." Inuyasha dipped his second stick into the syrup. "iPods just completely murder the greatness of having an album in your hand with the band's 'thank you's and thoughts and the lyrics." He bit his French toast. "It's just not the same."

This can't be happening, it really can't. It should be impossible for Inuyasha to be gorgeous, ridiculously talented music-wise, fairly smart (he aced the pop quiz in AP Lit Friday), have a great personality, and be _opinionated. _It's supposed to be impossible to find the perfect guy. So… why is he sitting next to me!

_It's only been a week, _I reminded myself to stop my train of thought. _There's still time for skeletons to show up in the closet. And he's your _friend. And I don't want to lose such a good friend by dating him and screwing it up like I do with all relationships.

"That's a different way of looking at it," I said, sipping my orange juice. "But people find iPods a lot more efficient for travel and working out."

"Oh, I have an iPod for stuff like that," Inuyasha clarified. "But I enjoy my CDs much more."

"Sorry I have such an amateur CD collection." Inuyasha ripped the last stick in half and held them both out to me and I studied them for a second before picking which one I thought looked bigger.

"Your choices are good, except," Inuyasha pulled a case out of my arm rest and shut it, "this. What is this?"

I laughed through my nose as I finished chewing and swallowing the last of my breakfast—second breakfast. I was going to have to actually try in Weight Management today. "It's the soundtrack to _Surfs Up_."

Inuyasha looked down at the cover and his brows furrowed. "I've never seen it, but it looks like a kiddie movie."

"Well it's the best damn PG movie I've ever seen." I took the CD from him and opened it, stopping to ejecting my Maroon 5 CD and sliding the _Surfs Up _soundtrack in. "And there are actually some really good songs on this."

"I'm not convinced."

"Well, prepared to be amazed." I looked at the back of the CD to find the song I was looking for. "Okay, this one's good," I told him, skipping to the second song. "And Stand Tall is really good. And I like Big Wave by Pearl Jam."

"Pearl Jam is on this?"

I smirked at Inuyasha. "I told you there were good songs on this." I sat back in my seat and closed my eyes as Drive by Incubus started up. "You should trust me more."

"I'm getting there."

~0~

"Kagome, we have a problem."

"Yeah, I'm still wet and it's already 10:30." I tired waving my jacket around for the hundredth time to try and dry it out. "This is getting ridiculous."

"Might I say again how suspicious it was for both you and Inuyasha came in both soaking wet a second before the final bell, laughing?" Sango said on my right and I just rolled my eyes. She wasn't spying on me, but she was very persistent for details.

"I told you already, we just ate breakfast."

"For the second day in a row and _alone _in your car."

"Okay, enough talk about Kagome's love life," Kikyo snapped, stepping in front of us and bringing us to a stop. "We have a really big problem pertaining to the paper; the posters aren't working."

"What do you mean the posters aren't working, we _just _put them up?" I demanded to know, smoothing my hair down with my hand. My hair decided to get frizzy today after running through the downpour this morning with Inuyasha.

"Upon close observation, people don't take the time to read over all the information. Meaning, it's an advertisement _failure._"

"Okay, so what do you suppose we do?"

Kikyo exchanged a look with Sango and I quickly turned to my best friend but she refused to look me in the eye. "We might have to…"

"Oh God…" My stomach dropped and I could feel the color drain from my face. "Don't say it."

"Kagome, the student body actually watches _The Morning Ribbet._" Kikyo said, not beating around the bush and confirming my worst fears. "I hate them too, but the paper _really _needs this money so…"

"So I have to ask them for a segment on the show." I finished for Kikyo. "This is just so wrong."

"Don't think of it as being a sellout," Sango advised as we started walking again towards History. "Think of it as keeping the paper in business so we can have a legendary comeback that completely crushes them in the future. The near future."

"This is so wrong," I said again. "It's making me feel sick."

"Okay, you know what Higurashi?" Kikyo started in her superior voice. "You wanted to be editor of the paper and take on all its responsibilities; so, you're going to have to get on your hands and knees like a good little bitch and _beg_ for the damn segment."

"You're being very encouraging," I spat sarcastically.

Kikyo flipped her hair over her shoulder and glided through the threshold into Mr. Kahn's class. "I try."

I stopped short before entering the class. "She's being pretty bitchy today."

"Naraku blew her off this morning to film some stupid thing," Sango explained as she slid past me into the class and I soon followed in suit. "Don't worry about her."

"Okay."

"But seriously Kagome," Sango looked me in the eyes as she took her seat, "You need to get that segment."

"My pride is going to be seriously wounded."

"But you're going to save the paper!" Sango enthused as I moved towards my seat that was three rows over, in front of Kikyo (assigned seats). "You should think optimistically."

That is very hard when I am so highly aware of the fact that I am betraying my passion to hate _The Morning Ribbet. _

~0~

If I had to choose between having all my eyebrows plucked one by one and asking the main anchorwomen, Yura, for a segment on the morning announcements I would definitely chose having my eyebrows plucked without a doubt. I wouldn't even hesitate.

"Can I _help _you Higurashi?" Yura asked again, crossing her arms over her chest as she looked at me from her seat behind the front desk at the library. Unfortunately Yura was the easiest—and the bitchiest—person from _The Morning Ribbet _to get a hold of since she had Literary Science (fancy name for working in the library as a class) when I had lunch.

"Uh, yeah, it's… It's about…" I scratched the back of my head. "You heard about the financial state of the paper I'm guessing."

"Oh yes." Yura nodded her head in fake sympathy. "We are all feeling for you in Video Productions." The class you take to be a part of _The Morning Ribbet. _"It's just so… pathetic," she said, smiling like a snake and I had to remind myself of how much I loved the paper and the staff to keep from hitting her.

"We think of it as just a mountain we're going to climb and overcome." Just being in the presence of Yura screws with my creativity; I just referenced a _Miley Cyrus _song as a comeback. "So, I came to you to… t-to ask for…" This is going to kill me. "To, uh… we kind of need some help. A segment to be exact."

Yura's eyes widened in surprise and I thought she might actually have a heart and accept this plea for help as some sort of truce but she crushed the thought by laughing in my face.

"Are you serious?" She threw her head back and my hands formed fists at my sides. "You've got to be kidding me. I mean you're seriously…" She cracked up again, clutching her stomach. "God, where is a camera when you need one?"

I was getting slightly ticked off. "Okay, so—"

"Shikon Times is finally accepting defeat and crawling to us for help! I need this on tape, I need to be able to watch you be pathetic and beg us to help you because there's no way in hell we're just going to just let you guys off the hook so easily." She sat back in her seat grinning. "It would be a humorous segment, that's for sure. I could have Hiten and Manten do some editing and have something pop up when you're speaking like… I don't know, but it has to fit you."

"It would be great if you just had _The Shikon Times _pop up on the screen," I said, forcing myself to overlook all the crap she said earlier.

"Oh no, Kagome, you want something that represents the entire staff so the student body will remember you," Yura advised, resting her elbows on the counter and leaning forward. "It has to reflect you perfectly."

I just want to get this over with. "How about—"

"I got it!" Yura announced, snapping her fingers. "The Pathetic Losers Groveling for Help. A War Finally Ended." She smiled into the distance before looking back at me with a smug smile. "The Morning Ribbet being the obvious victors."

"You know what, Yura," I started, smiling sweetly. "Fuck you. Fuck you and your stupid morning announcements filled with nothing but a bunch of airheads! The Shikon Times is filled with a bunch of individuals who think for themselves. Associating ourselves with _you_ would just be a disgrace. So you can take your microphone, your fancy camera, and stupid editing team and shove them up your _fat ass." _I took a step back and smiled again. "Have a nice day."

~0~

"Kagome Higurashi!"

_Shit. _I tried running around the corner before Sango could get to me, but she was too fast and held onto the back of book bag, bringing my get away to a quick halt.

"Did you really tell Yura to shove her microphone, camera, and stupid editing team up her _fat ass?"_

"You did _what?" _asked Inuyasha as he came up behind me, but I ignored him.

"Uh, yeah." Sango's eyes widened but not in shock. It looked more like she wanted to wring my neck. "O-okay, now before you try to squeeze the life out of me I have a great back up plan for this."

"Well please share because our back-up for the posters failing was to suck it up and get a segment on the announcements and we _don't have another back-up."_

"Which is why I have this great idea." Sango tapped her foot impatiently. "We are not sellouts so we're going to do this very simple; I'm going to get a megaphone from the gym teacher and we'll advertise on the front steps." The rain had stopped sometime around lunch so it was wet out, but we could manage. "And we'll tape flyers on the back of the bathroom stalls and hand them out for a week and tape them on people lockers. I'm telling you, persistence is the key to success."

"And you really think this is going to work?"

It better. "I have no doubts. Just grab a few staff members and tell them to meet on the front steps right after school. _Right after school."_

"Okay, but I swear Kagome, if this doesn't work…"

"I know, I know, you're going to kill me."

"Just as long as we're clear." Sango turned on her heel and headed down the hall and I rested against the lockers in relief. I amaze myself with the things I can come up with while I'm thinking off the top of my head.

"You just made that up, didn't you?" Inuyasha asked standing in front of me, chewing his gum.

"I thought I did a good job of coming off as confident."

"Oh, I was sold until you leaned against the lockers. And if you really had a plan already figured out you wouldn't have tried running away from Sango."

"You saw that?" I sighed and then rolled my shoulders back, trying to regain my confidence because I needed to look like a leader when I went to the gym, begging on my knees for Coach T to lend me his megaphone. The man had an odd attachment to that thing. "Well, now I just have to get this all together and I only have one period to do it."

"Need any help?"

"N—yes, actually. Do you think you could be on the front steps after school too?"

"I can fit that in."

"Good." I smiled up at him and Inuyasha just smirk. He took a step forward and my heart rate skyrocketed and my breathing was uneven. "Okay, I gotta go," I squeaked out as I slipped between the small space between Inuyasha and the wall I was leaning against. "I'll see you after school."

Inuyasha slid his hands in his pockets and shrugged his shoulders as if nothing happened and maybe nothing did and I was just overreacting. "I guess."

"Good."

~0~

"How the hell do you work this thing?" I mumbled hitting a few buttons on the megaphone as I tried to get it to work for me. Coach T finally handed it over after I promised to help grade health papers tomorrow afternoon so now the only problem was getting it to work. I hit a button and held down the trigger on the handle causing a loud screech to filter through the air. I quickly released my hold on the trigger.

"Oh my god, Kagome," Kikyo hissed. "Everybody is going to be gone by the time you learn how to work that thing."

"I'm _trying._" I hit another button and a siren went off. "This looks so easy in movies."

"Kagome!" Sango shouted with a hint of urgency in her voice. "The crowd is _dwindling._"

"Okay, okay, just—crap!" I shut off the loud buzz that went off when I hit another button. "There are only three more buttons left."

"Can't you do anything right?"

"I got us this back-up plan, didn't I?" I snapped at Kikyo. "Just because your boyfriend thought some film was more important than you doesn't give you the right to lash out on everyone."

"What did you—"

"Give it to me." I looked up and Inuyasha was on the step behind me, holding his hand out. "Come on, Kagome, you're going to make my ears bleed if you keep hitting random buttons."

"Here," I said handing the megaphone over to Inuyasha, "but it's not as easy as people make it—"

Inuyasha hit a button and held it down on the handle, a single beep sounded and he held it to his lips, "Testing, testing." A few people looked our way and Inuyasha handed it back over to me. "There you go."

"Thanks," I sighed in relief. I cleared my throat once and then held the button down on the handle and brought the megaphone to my mouth. "Shikon High students, may I please have your attention!" A good amount of people turned around to look at me and though a few were laughing, at least I had their attention. "I am Kagome Higurashi, editor of the—"

"Slut!"

"—Shikon Times," I continued, pretending to be unfazed by the comment. "The paper is running a little low on funding so we have decided to throw an Odd-Ball Olympics after school in two weeks. This is where each member of the paper will participate in some sort of even like…" I looked at Kikyo and Sango and the few people they managed to drag with them for help.

"Mud wrestling!" Aki shouted and before I could deny it a group of guys started hooting so I decided to let it slide for now.

"So we'll be participating in all sorts of events like that for an hour and a half after school for a week. You can watch the events for free; we're making money by you placing bets on who you think is going to win a certain event. The prizes are a kiss on the cheek from Ms. Kido for all male winners and for female winners—" I had to wait a minute as the male part of the crowd calmed down after hearing their prize. "And female winners will win a kiss from our new transfer student Inuyasha!" I shouted, gesturing to Inuyasha and he gave a small wave to the crowd. "So you—"

"Cheek or lips?" A girl shouted out from the crowd and I assumed she was referring to Inuyasha. It's not like Ms. Kido could give anyone a real kiss without getting fired anyway.

"Cheek," I answered with no hesitation. A good amount of girls immediately lost interest and Kikyo elbowed me in the side and Sango gave me the same scary wide-eyed look. "Haha, got you!" I said into the megaphone. I looked at Inuyasha from the corner of my eye and he stared at me in disbelief. "Lips! He will kiss you on the lips and for three seconds!" There was a satisfying cheering and I looked over at Inuyasha who was just gaping at me.

"I can't believe you."

"I'm sorry," I apologized, biting my lip. "I didn't want to do it, but the paper is—"

"And starting in two weeks, Shikon High's most original event will take place after school." I looked over and on the other side of the steps was Yura talking into the cameraman's, Juromaru's, small camera. She looked down a piece of paper in her hand. "The events will range from relay races in the pool to riding miniature tricycles around the school track."

"What the hell?" Kikyo asked, staring at Yura. "How the hell is she going to report on _our _event?"

"To make us look like sellouts," Sango answered. "How does she know all of this anyways?"

"She probably cornered a freshman member and forced it out of them," Kikyo bit out. "She's stealing our audience!"

"This is what you get for telling her off, Kagome," Aki sang and I shot him death glare. "Okay, okay, I'm shutting up."

"And the prize for the female betters will be a three second kiss from the transfer student, Inuyasha Takahashi. What better way to make a new kid feel welcomed than letting him kiss a few girls?" Yura continued, giving the camera a wink.

"That's my line!" Sango shouted. "I decided to use that as our slogan! That bitch just came and stole it as if—"

"Give me that." Kikyo snatched the megaphone from my hand and brought it to her mouth. "And to end the big shebang," she shouted loudly, demanding attention. A good thing about Kikyo being popular is that she easily attracts attention. "There will be a carnival event on Saturday with games, live music, food, and…"

"A dunking booth!" Sango shouted, snatching the megaphone from Kikyo. "Where our own editor Kagome Higurashi will be sitting on the plank _all day! _So don't miss out on the biggest event of the year."

"Bigger than prom!" Aki shouted out, finally saying something useful.

The crowd was now making enough commotion to show they were interested enough that we could stop yelling into a megaphone. I snatched the megaphone back from Sango and set it on the ground at my feet.

"What the hell were you two thinking!" I shouted at them. "How the hell are we going to fund a _carnival _if we can't even fund the paper? We're trying to raise money not burn a whole in our pockets!"

"Okay, relax Kagome," Sango started, placing her hands on my shoulders. "Kikyo's dad owns a restaurant chain so we won't have problem getting the food, Midnight Blues can be the live performance, we can use the little bit of money we have left for the dunking booth and for the games we'll…"

"We'll do what?" I asked, "Really, Sango we don't have the money to just throw a carnival and—"

"I'll get the games together," Inuyasha cut me off.

"No, that's way too much money," I declined. I was already feeling guilty about making him kiss all those girls and I didn't want to pressure him anymore. He's not even a part of the newspaper staff and he's doing more than some people who are a part of the paper.

"Don't worry about it, I… I know somebody," Inuyasha insisted. "I'll get it done."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"I mean—"

"Okay, stop trying to talk him out of it," Kikyo cut in, pulling her purse up on her shoulder. "We've got it all settled out so stop trying to screw it up. He says he wants to do it so just let him help." Kikyo flipped her hair over her shoulder and headed up the steps. "Now I have somewhere to be so I'll see you brats tomorrow."

"Yeah, I got to go too." Sango picked her books up off the step and smiled at me. "If I'm late for work one more time I'm going to be fired." She started jogging up the steps. "Bye!"

I looked after her for a second before turning back to Inuyasha, offering a small smile. "Thanks."

"No problem." He reached down and handed me my book bag and I took it, sliding it on my back and picking up my book. "So now that I'm being forced to kiss a bunch of girls for three seconds and I'm getting the games for the carnival I think you owe me something."

"Okay, now I get it; you were just taking in all these favors to use to your advantage later, huh?"

"That was my plan from the beginning," Inuyasha shrugged.

"I can't believe you!" I hit his arm and then jogged ahead of him up the steps and into the school. The student parking lot was in the back of the school and it's easiest to just walk through the school to get there. "So what is it you want?"

"Breakfast again tomorrow, but in my car." Inuyasha smirked at me. "I'm going to show you what a _real _CD collection is."

"Breakfast in cars?" I looked over at him as we walked down the hall. "Is that going to be our thing or something?"

"I don't know," Inuyasha shrugged. "Do you want to have a thing with me?"

Something told me that he didn't just mean eating breakfast in a car with him. I don't know how to answer the underlying question. If I screwed up with dating Inuyasha—and I'm the biggest screw up when it comes to dating—it wouldn't be something I could just brush off my shoulder like I do with most guys. In just a week, Inuyasha had become… different; different from every other guy who walked in and out of my life. It's the safest way to describe him.

"I'd love to have breakfast with you," I told him, answering the question without answering the question he was probably really asking.

-x-

_Really, you couldn't give him a crooked nose, bad breath, a mean side? Is it too much to ask for a guy who _isn't _perfect?_

-0-0-0-0-0-

**And there you have it, chapter 7. I really wasn't supposed to update this story until later, because I have quite a few stories that need attention, but I found inspiration and I wasn't going to let it pass me by. I am still taking suggestions for ODD-BALL OLYMPICS so review and give me your ideas. I started a collection of drabbles, **_I Have a Confession to Make, _**featuring canon couples so you can look at that if you'd like. There are only 2 so far but I got another idea when I was on the bus today. And another idea was inspired last week when I missed my bus two days in a row and had to walk home because I forgot my bus number (too much testing). So, yeah, you can look forward to that. And it is official, I WILL write **_**Thrown. **_**If you don't know what that is you should check my profile. Psychology homework is calling my name and I'm trying to get out of the habit of pushing it off until the morning, so I'm going to stop typing now. REVIEW! I promise I will give you a cookie.**

**~Kimiko888~**

_hanmajoerin had some funny and witty comment to put here but, she lost her train of thought when she realized she had to finish writing a three paragraph analysis on some story in English class. _


	8. Guilt

**Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or any songs or "you being in love" (E.E Cummings owns it. Duh.) Or Erin or Yaten, they belong to hanmajoerin (I need to remember to add that to the disclaimer from now on. This is my reminder)**

**So, for this chapter I needed to find a good poem for Kagome & Co to decipher and then I realized that _I _would also have to decipher a poem and that just wasn't happening (I am _glad _I'm not in English this semester). So I was going to go with a pretty straight forward poem, but I really liked this poem, and there weren't any actual poem analysis of this online that I could find, so this is just how I saw the poem. Sorry if my interpretation is somehow way out there in left field, but I honestly only understood the ending.**

**For this chapter, I had to make Yoko's presence known since she is Kagome's rival for Dai's heart and the girl does sit right behind Kagome. Just to make it clear though, we like Yoko—she's a good person.**

**Walking Tightropes**

**Chapter 8: Guilt**

_I only have one thing to say: keep your friends close, and your enemies closer._

-x-

"Alright, we're going to start our poetry unit earlier than usual this year because I couldn't wait any longer," Mr. Vyke started as soon as the bell rang, signaling the beginning of class. "To jump start the unit, we're going to work in groups that I have picked out"—the class instantly began to groan—"and you're going to be analyzing a poem for the basic parts, such as the theme, and then your group is going to come up with your own poem that has the same theme as the one you just analyzed and present it to the class. It's going to be written on a big sheet of paper and hung up around the classroom, so I want you to actually decorate your paper." Mr. Vyke then started grouping people together (which was actually him just pairing you up with the people around you). "Kagome, Inuyasha, Yoko, and Ayumi, the four of you will be a group."

In just ten seconds Mr. Vyke had gone from being top on the favorite teachers list to the bottom. One, he started the poetry unit early, and I _hate _the poetry unit because, although I love writing, I _suck _at writing poems. Two, he's making us _decorate _our poems (which nobody likes to do); it's time consuming and we're in _high school _now, coloring was supposed to be left behind in elementary. And three, Mr. Vyke had the nerve to pair me up with Yoko. _What _was he thinking?

"Hey, are you okay?" Inuyasha asked, pausing the action of turning his desk around so we could form a table with Yoko and Ayumi. "You look… uh, annoyed."

"Of course she's annoyed," Yoko started before I could say anything. "Who in the hell likes analyzing poems?"

"Not me," Ayumi said, pushing her desk next to Yoko's and Inuyasha turned so his desk was he was facing Ayumi, leaving me to sit across from Yoko.

Sell out.

"It completely takes away the reason the writer wrote the poem; for it to be enjoyed," Yoko continued as she dragged her ginormous tan tote towards her and pulled out a pen. "I believe Lit classes are the reasons a lot of people don't like poetry."

"Are you one of those people?" Inuyasha asked.

"Sorry if I offended you," Yoko shrugged. "Knowing you're a music nerd, you probably write your own lyrics and that's basically poetry, right?"

"Pretty much." Inuyasha smiled and I secretly hated him for it. How could he be getting all chummy with my enemy when he's supposed to be _my _friend! "I might use the poem we make together as a song."

"I wouldn't suggest it," Yoko laughed, her eyes sparkling. "My boyfriend, Dai, he writes some poetry and he read over a poem I wrote for him for his birthday and he told me, with no shame, that it sucked."

Good old Dai, always honest. You know, because he's just real in that way. That… perfect, admirable way.

Ayumi and Inuyasha both laughed and I forced myself to smile. Honestly, if it weren't for the fact that I was holding a secret grudge against her for dating Dai, Yoko could probably be one of my best friends. Although she's a cheerleader, she's not a stuck up bitch kind of cheerleader. Yoko is nice, fun, and so charismatic that you have to try really, _really _hard to hate her. I'm trying, but I'm failing. The best I can do is be jealous of her and not just because she has Dai all to herself. She has amazing grades, she has amazing style, she is flexible (I've always wanted to do a backflip, but I'm not willing to break my back trying), she's fucking gorgeous (I would kill to have her hair. But seriously, with midnight, perfectly coiffed curls like hers, who wouldn't?), she's ridiculously nice (she volunteers at the animal center _three days a week), _and she's so down to earth for a cheerleader, it makes me want to vomit.

As much as I hate admitting it, I can see why Dai is dating Yoko. I am pretty much wasting my time, waiting for Dai to see through the "bull" that Yoko is, since she gives it to you straight forward. But things like true love take time. Maybe Dai will realize he and Yoko are better off as friends and then he'll come to me.

Somehow it feels wrong to be thinking this with Yoko sitting across from me. And Inuyasha sitting right beside me, his elbow just barely touching my arm.

I looked up from my notebook to catch a glance at Yoko and she caught my eye and smiled at me.

Holy _shit, _she's on to me.

"Alright," Mr. Vyke stated as he approached our group, flipping through the stack of poems he had in his hand, "you guys get to pull apart a poem done by E.E Cummings." I was honestly praying to the gods that I would somehow get Shell Silverstein. Mr. Vyke dropped two copies of the poem on our table. "I hope you find this poem to your liking."

I slid one of the pieces of paper over so it was between me and Inuyasha and I read the title.

"You Being in Love"

Well isn't this just peachy? The poem has to deal with my biggest failure in life—love.

"Do you guys want to read it out loud or read it silently and then converse," Ayumi asked.

"Silently," I answered. "It's easier for me to digest if I'm looking at the words and not just listening. I don't understand a thing if you read it out loud."

"My thoughts exactly," Yoko agreed.

Yoko and Ayumi hunched over their sheet of paper and began reading as Inuyasha and I moved closer together to share. I could feel his breath on the side of my face every time he exhaled. It was going to be hard to concentrate on this poem even without reading it out loud.

You being in love  
Will tell who softly asks in love,

Am I separated from your body smile brain hands merely  
To become the jumping puppets of a dream? oh i mean:  
Entirely having in my careful how  
Careful arms created this at length  
Inexcusable, this inexplicable pleasure-you go from several  
Persons: believe me that strangers arrive  
When I have kissed you into a memory  
Slowly, oh seriously  
-That since and if you disappear

Solemnly  
Myselves  
Ask "life, the question how do I drink dream smile

And how do I prefer this face to another and  
why do I weep eat sleep-what does the whole intend"  
They wonder. Oh and they cry "to be, being, that I am alive  
This absurd fraction in its lowest terms  
With everything cancelled  
But shadows  
-What does it all come down to? Love? Love  
If you like and I like, for the reason that I  
Hate people and lean out of this window is love, love  
And the reason that I laugh and breathe is oh love and the reason  
That I do not fall into this street is love."

I didn't understand much of the poem besides bits and pieces, but what I could understand was good. Honest. Pretty much exactly how I view the concept of love. Of course, E.E Cummings does drive me insane with his unconventional writing style and I had to stop myself from inserting commas where they were very much needed, but the meaning of this poem (what I understood, at least) is something I can make a connection to. I date a lot of guys to try to replace the memory of Dai and in the end I always prefer Dai. Even though I keep getting let down and sometimes even depressed (but not often), I still keep searching because, you know, love is kind of amazing. Well, in my case, _dating _is pretty fun. Which makes me sound like a slut…

"Hmm," Inuyasha hummed as he sat back in his seat, tapping his pencil against his lips as they formed a small, half smile. "I like it."

"I don't understand it," Ayumi mumbled, massaging her temples. "Stupid poetry…"

"I get, like, two lines before the end," Yoko said. "I completely understand that he's saying love can be heartbreaking and make you miserable—to the point where you want to jump out of a window—, but love is also… amazing." Yoko smiled down at her sheet. "And because you're so madly in love you can't bring it to yourself to end your life and miss out on feeling love again."

"I think that what he means by 'I have kissed you face into a memory', is that he sleeps with—or dates, other women to forget her." I looked down at the poem again and tilted my head. "At least, I think that's what he means. Now I'm just confused again. Yeah, just disregard what I just said." This is why I don't prefer poetry; it is so _confusing!_

"I was hoping for some simple poetry," Yoko sighed, resting her cheek in her hand. "You know, like Shell Silverstein. Or at least Emily Dickinson where I can guess that somehow the poem relates to death."

"I know!" I sympathized with Yoko before I remembered that she was supposed to be my rival. "I know we're in high school, but the only poetry I can really grasp is Silverstein."

Yoko snorted. "We should definitely not be in AP Lit for our lack of skills in poetry. God, on those Lit tests we get and they give us a poem with questions?" She shook her head. "I get every single one of those wrong."

"Oh, there was one on last year's test that I didn't get _at all. _I honestly just guessed on every single question using eenie-meenie-miny-moe."

Yoko threw her head back and laughed. "I am so glad Mr. Vyke moved me," Yoko said with a genuine smile when she stopped laughing. "It's good to find someone in this class to relate to. Where I used to sit," she tilted her head in the direction of her old seat, "I was surrounded by nothing but geniuses and they find no shame in flaunting their grades. It really makes you feel stupid to fail a pop-quiz when they all scored hundreds."

"We idiots tend to make others feel smart," Ayumi joked and we all laughed.

"Glad to make you feel welcomed," I said with a smile. What the hell am I doing? We're supposed to be _enemies!_

"Because of y'all this is now one of favorite classes." Yoko nodded her head once as if to mentally confirm that statement. "Yeah, definitely near the top of the list."

Oh yeah, she _definitely _knows I have the biggest crush on her boyfriend. She is just showing me how great she is on purpose so I will start feeling guilty about thinking—praying about the day the two of them break-up. And even though everything she has said and done seemed completely genuine, for all I know, she could be one hell of an actor.

"Now that female bonding is over," Inuyasha decided, waving the poem in the air a bit, "let's finish analyzing the poem."

"Oh, that's right," Ayumi grinned at Inuyasha, "what was your take on the poem?"

"I don't really know," Inuyasha shrugged. "I just know I liked what he was saying at the end. Of course, I've never been in love so I can't really relate, but it _sounds _like what I imagine love to be."

"Never been in love?" Yoko's jaw dropped as if it was a shock. Considering Inuyasha _is _a teenage boy it shouldn't come as a shock, but even I was expecting Inuyasha to have made a deep connection with somebody since he does seem like a deep person. Kind of. I mean, I could just be stereotyping him because he's a musician and writes his own music. But then again, _Kouga _is a musician (no offense to him).

"Not romantically. I'm seventeen; you all shouldn't be so shocked." But Inuyasha shrunk a bit in his seat as if he didn't feel as comfortable as he did a second ago. "Have all of you been in love?"

"No," Ayumi confessed, "But you make it sound as if you're not really into falling in love as a teenager and that's when love is the best. It's reckless and passionate and just… there are no limits, no worries, no cares." Ayumi shrugged. "It just seems that falling in love as an adult is when you calculate everything which takes away from the experience."

"I just think that high school relationships don't last," Inuyasha mumbled. "What's the point if the relationship is going to come to an end by the time graduation rolls around?"

"If you really love someone you make it work," Yoko said, determination in her eyes and I had an awful thought of her and Dai actually going off to get married. Then I had an awful feeling for thinking that the two of them getting married and finding happiness is awful.

Inuyasha's words ran through my head and I actually digested what he meant. He doesn't believe in high school romance, basically. He believes in love, but not in love as a teenager so including Inuyasha in my search for true love would be a waste. There it was—the answer to my dilemma; I would not date Inuyasha and he would fall into the category of a life-long friend. Problem solved, huge decision averted.

Wrong.

Why? Because I'm not happy with that answer which basically solves my first problem—I should definitely try to date Inuyasha—but now another problem presents itself; _Inuyasha _might not want to waste his time dating me. Or say he does date me and I get to spend our entire relationship thinking that he's going to break this off as soon as graduation day comes around (if we even last that long) and that would basically be sentencing myself to massive heartbreak. To Inuyasha, I would just be someone that helps past the time.

But Inuyasha wouldn't do that to somebody, right?

I looked at him as he argued his point with Ayumi, saying something about just because it's reckless doesn't make it true love. No, Inuyasha definitely wouldn't date somebody just to help pass the time, but that would mean he hasn't dated anybody and I just know that's not the case.

And there is always that person who changes your outlook on life. I could be the person that makes Inuyasha realize that you _can_ fall in love and it _can_ actually last. He and I could go on to be more than just high school sweethearts. Yeah, I'll just be that girl who changes Inuyasha's life.

I couldn't help but smile at that thought.

And now I feel a huge amount of guilt in my gut because I'm supposed to be thinking about changing Dai's life, not Inuyasha's.

"You know what your problem is?" Yoko asked, joining the conversation. "You're afraid of getting your heart broken. You're afraid you're going to meet your soul mate in high school and then have to let her go when you go away to college and to just avoid losing her, you're not even going to try finding her."

Aha! Inuyasha could just be shielding himself from heartbreak and really _does_ believe in finding the love of your life in high school, but he's afraid of losing them. I guess my chances aren't as low as I feared.

"All of you girls are hopeless romantics," Inuyasha sighed, shaking his head.

"But you didn't deny Yoko's statement," I pointed out. "Do you date girls?"

"What does that have to do with anything?" Inuyasha asked, turning red.

"Do you?" I pressed. I needed to know this before I went through the trouble of dating Inuyasha.

"Yeah, but—"

"So you believe that there is a chance that you will fall in love, otherwise you wouldn't date girls at all."

"I didn't say it was impossible," Inuyasha defended himself. "I just think that with high school, it's really unlikely for you to find the person you're going to spend the rest of your life with. You can fall in love in high school, but I have doubts about whether or not it's going to last."

"My parents were high school sweethearts," Ayumi said. "And they're still together and they're happy."

"So it's not impossible," Yoko concluded, looking relieved. Holy hell, she probably is thinking about growing up and marrying Dai. Just my crappy luck.

"I guess not." I turned to see what Inuyasha's reaction would be to being proved wrong, only to find him looking at me.

Holy. Shit.

"So, what's the theme of the poem?" I asked, my voice an octave too high. I was trying to erase all the thoughts of just what that look Inuyasha gave me could mean.

"Since we all only understand one part of the poem I think we should go with love screws with your feelings," Inuyasha said, not at all effected by the moment we just shared. Or the moment I _thought _we shared. "It makes you feel heartbroken and miserable and sometimes it's the reason that you keep living."

"We should Google this poem for a meaning," Ayumi sighed. "I keep rereading it and I just keep getting more thrown off than before."

"Poetry is supposed to be about how we interpret it, so there can't be a wrong answer as long as we're not talking about something completely out there like monkeys on crack."

"Monkeys on crack?" I repeated, laughing. "Of all the out there topics you come up with _that?_"

"It's pretty out there, right?" Yoko asked, grinning. "But back on topic; love is the death of us, but the reason we live. Now we just have to come up with our own poem." Ayumi, Yoko, and I all looked to Inuyasha.

"What?"

"Well, you _are _the songwriter," I answered. "We just figured that you might have some ideas for the poem."

"You want me to write the poem?" Inuyasha asked, lifting a brow.

"We'll add a few things in too, of course," Yoko assured him. "You know, a few suggestions here and there."

"Exactly." I looked back at Inuyasha and gave him my most charming smile. "We're just letting you take the lead on this one."

"You guys are a bunch of slackers," Inuyasha grumbled, but he slid my notebook over to him anyway, flipping to a clean sheet of paper. "You're going to owe me for this one, Kagome. I want a whole box of French toast tomorrow, just for me."

"It's your turn to bring breakfast tomorrow," I reminded him. This morning I brought bagels and orange juice from home, which he didn't even eat since he was too busy showing me all his CDs and playing pieces of his favorite songs and telling me what movie scene he would play that part with. Inuyasha's back up if Midnight Blues doesn't make it (which, he seriously doubts) is to be a music supervisor. A music supervisor is the guy in movies who puts together the music in the movie, but Inuyasha also said he wouldn't mind being the composer, which is the guy who writes the musical scores for the film.

"As long as it deals with music and movies I'm fine," is what he said this morning. "I love them both so combing them together would be my absolute dream job."

"Alright then, on Thursday I want French toast. And homemade bacon and sliced fruit," Inuyasha added as an afterthought and I scoffed.

"That's not going to happen."

"Then I want some coffee. I'll bring you strawberries and you'll get me coffee."

It would make more sense if I just brought my strawberries and Inuyasha got his own coffee (since he does know how he likes it), than us bringing it for each other, but I didn't protest because I like that we get each other's food.

"Okay," I agreed, smiling. "Now just write the poem."

"Whatever." Inuyasha started writing immediately and I had a thought that he knew exactly what he was going to write from the beginning and just wanted to con me out of some more free food. Pig.

When I looked back at Yoko and Ayumi they were both giving me knowing looks with funny grins plastered on their faces.

"What?"

"Nothing," Yoko said, but the way she was trying not to smile told me there was definitely something.

"Seriously, what is it?"

"It's just…" Yoko trailed off and looked at Ayumi who was writing something down on her notebook. When she finished writing she checked to make sure Inuyasha wasn't looking before she flipped it over so I could see what she wrote.

**_You two would make a great couple._**

Good God, this is one of the few classes Sango isn't in; I'm not supposed to get pestered about this stuff!

"We're not," I tell them out loud, so Inuyasha doesn't get suspicious of the silence.

"We know," Ayumi shrugged. "But you guys would."

"Yeah?" I looked at Inuyasha out the corner of my eye. "I get that a lot."

I don't really, but I sure do think about it a lot.

-x-

"Kagome, it was your turn to get the snack, _how _could you forget?"

"Sorry, Ayame," I apologized as I slid my t-shirt over my head. "It must have slipped my mind."

"You're always hungry before Weight Management, how could you forget?"

Ayame and I have Weight Management 3rd block and that is the lunch block. Meaning the cafeteria is open for people with first lunch at the beginning of 3rd block. I can slip in and buy chips, a muffin, fries, whatever, and then slip right out and continue on my way to the locker rooms. In the locker rooms I always share what I get with Ayame while we get dressed. We bring food in every two days and switch off on whose turn it is to get the food. It's a system we have developed over the years.

"Damnit Kagome, I am _starving." _Ayame frowned and looked down at her stomach. "My stomach has been growling all day."

"You should have had a bigger breakfast." I peeled my jeans off and reached for my sweats. It was getting a little too cold outside to run around the track in shorts.

"It's hard to accomplish that when I am so clearly _not _a morning person." Ayame sat down on the bench and crossed her arms. "What in the world could have distracted you from getting the food?"

Well, today I walked with Inuyasha to the gym and he had to stop by his locker as usual, but instead of going to the cafeteria to grab some fries like I normally do, I stayed behind and talked to Inuyasha because I can actually hold really good conversations with him. And I was determined to win the debate we were having about zombies versus unicorns (in a fight, a Resident Evil zombie will completely annihilate a unicorn). Of course, I didn't want to tell Ayame that because she would immediately accuse me of flirting which I wasn't doing.

"I got held up talking to Kikyo," I answered which is partially true. I talked to her for about ten seconds. We talked about placing flyers in the bathroom stalls after class before we went our separate ways. "In a battle, who would win—zombie or a unicorn?"

"Where the hell did that come from?"

"I had a debate with Inuyasha earlier," I explained while pulling my gym shirt over my head and gathering my hair to put into a ponytail. "Can I borrow a ponytail holder?"

"Unicorn," Ayame answered as she pulled the ponytail holder off her wrist and tossed it to me. "Zombies are slow."

"Resident Evil zombies are not slow," I argued. "They will eat a unicorn alive before the unicorn can even make a move. And seriously? Unicorns are all about rainbows and happiness—they're too nice to kill anybody."

"Honestly Kagome, I really don't care." Ayame grabbed her water bottle out of her locker and her jacket in case we went running outside again. "So Kouga hasn't mentioned anything about the band performing at the carnival, which makes me assume that you haven't told Erin about it yet?"

"Nope. And I told Inuyasha not to mention it at all before I get the chance to bring it up. You know how difficult Erin can be about participating in school events." Erin has a problem with extracurricular activities because they interfere with her free time after school. "I really don't want to have to do this," I groaned.

"Well, as editor of the newspaper, it is your duty."

Funny how I have to take responsibility for Kikyo's idea. It just doesn't seem fair to me.

"This isn't fair."

"Life's not fair, Kagome." Ayame headed out of the row of lockers we were sitting between and I jammed my feet into my sneakers and hurried after her. "You just have to use the right approach and everything will work out fine."

-x-

"_Eeerrriiinnn."_

Erin turned around and glared at me. "No."

Singing: definitely not the right approach.

"I didn't even _ask _for anything!" Yet.

"Kagome, Kagome, Kagome," Erin started, shaking her head. "You _sang _my name; you're looking pretty damn suspicious."

"You're just being paranoid," I huffed, rounding the counter and tossing my bag underneath it. "But since you reminded me, I do have a _tiny _request for you."

"No."

"You haven't even heard it yet!" Erin turned to me and raised her brows; not believing what I had to say was worth her while. I should have picked a day when she was in a slightly better mood before throwing the whole carnival thing in her face. I should have at least brought her a smoothie or _something. _"It's for a good cause."

"I don't believe in good causes."

I rolled my eyes. "It's a gig."

She tilted her head just a bit in my direction and I smiled, knowing I now had her attention. Erin's weak spot was her band. She listened to everybody who offered Midnight Blues a chance to make themselves well known.

"So, you see, Monday the newspaper staff put up posters to advertise the Odd-Ball Olympics, but then Kikyo told me that it was a complete advertisement failure since no one stopped to read them and then she said I would have to ask _The Morning Ribbet _for help so we could get a segment on the morning announcements to "properly" advertise, but, you know, we _hate The Morning Ribbet." _Erin let out a long sigh and stared at me as if she couldn't believe I was telling her the _entire _background story. Erin is not a fan of long, drawn out stories that hold little meaning to her and I usually never told long, drawn out stories, but I'm buying myself time to come up with the perfect way to convince Erin to let Midnight Blues perform at the carnival.

"But, because I knew how much the paper meant to everyone," I continued, ignoring the pained look she gave me, "I sucked up my pride and went to ask Yura for a segment. Well, she was a complete _bitch_ so I ended up screwing up and telling her off, so Sango was out for my head and I needed to think of a plan to save—"

"Is this _going_ anywhere?" Erin cut me off, finally having enough. "Where do I and Midnight Blues fit into the story?"

"I'm getting to there," I assured her, waving her off with my hand as I reached down to grab the trivia cards and passed half the stack to her. "So, I decided I was going to just get the megaphone from the gym teacher and—"

"Kagome! Please," Erin begged me, "get to the point."

"Okay, well, when we were battling for the crowd's attention, Kikyo made up this plan to have a carnival at the end of the week and she said there would be games, food… live music…" I eased out, just barely above whisper.

"Abso-lutely. Not," Erin instantly declined, shaking her head.

"Why not?" I whined, though I already knew the answer.

"Because, considering that you're most likely going to have this right after school it would be interfering with my naptime and my naptime is crucial for my health," She said and I rolled my eyes.

"Okay, but for just one day, can't you just abandon your five hour nap after school?"

"No!" Erin shouted in horror as if I asked her to go and murder somebody. "Kagome, you don't get it; I _need _my naptime in order to properly function at night. Without those few precious hours of sleep after school and before my mom comes home I'm a complete mess. I wouldn't be able to do my nightly routine of searching for gigs or checking out the local competition if I don't take my nap. If it weren't for the fact that my mom is incapable of remembering to pay the bills, I wouldn't even be working this job three days a week. I'm already losing way too much sleep a week because of this job."

"Erin…"

"My laziness has a strong influence over my actions," Erin shrugged, flipping through the stack of trivia cards I handed her. "I swear we have done every single one of these questions."

"Please, just for _one _day."

"Kagome, you just don't get it," Erin sighed, shaking her head again. "You're so busy all the time you don't understand how addictive naps can be. You're working here, you're the _editor _of the newspaper, you're always dating somebody which has to consume a lot of your time, and in your free time you're _writing," _she emphasized as if she couldn't believe out of all the things I could do, I choose to write. "And now you're planning a fucking carnival!"

"Ms. Chiba," T.J hissed, having past the counter at that exact moment. "Language."

"Sorry," Erin grumbled with a roll of her eyes. She waited until T.J was out of hearing range to continue our conversation. "Honestly Kagome, I don't think you even _have _a lazy bone."

"I do just sit and watch movies sometimes," I defended myself. "And I held an Office marathon one week and didn't get off the couch at all."

"But you never _nap. _I can't get you to understand how important my naps are since you probably haven't taken a nap since kindergarten."

"We're getting off topic," I muttered, changing the subject. Was it really that odd that I don't take naps? Naps are supposed to be for little kids and old people for crying out loud! "If Midnight Blues performs at the carnival _a lot _of people will hear their music and since the majority of the audience is going to be teens Midnight Blues will be popping up all over the internet via Twitter and Facebook. The band is going to blow up over night!"

"The reason we play at bars and clubs is because there are adults there who may have a connection with the music business that can give us the chance we need to become huge," Erin explained to me. "Teenagers don't have that connection."

"But we influence the music scene!" Erin just shook her head, not falling for it. "Inuyasha didn't seem to have a problem with it," I mumbled, crossing my arms and scanning over the store to see if any customers were close to checking out.

"Because he's trying to court you, or whatever," Erin said with a wave of her hand and I blushed. "Yeah, I know about your little breakfast thing. And Inuyasha doesn't take naps either, so he wouldn't get it if I told him."

"I'll let you sleep in my car until… for as long as you want."

"A car is not the same as a bed."

"Erin, a lot of people are sacrificing for this event," I started, grasping for words that would somehow convince her. "I have to sit on the dunking booth all day just to raise money for the paper, but you don't see me complaining about getting soaked."

Erin seemed to give what I said some thought. "You're going to be on the dunking booth all day?"

"Courtesy of Sango and her big mouth."

"I'm there," She decided with a nod of her head. "How could I miss out on something as big as you in a wet t-shirt?"

"Erin!" I shouted, hitting her in her arm. "I swear, you are just unbelievable sometimes." Of all things I had to do to convince her, she just wants to see me on the plank.

"Ms. Higurashi and Ms. Chiba," T.J came by again, crossing his arms as he looked both of us up and down. "You are not being paid to just sit there and talk, you are being paid to _work. _It is now five minutes past the hour and there has still been no announcement of a trivia question."

"Sorry T-man," Erin apologized holding up a random trivia question. "We'll get right to work on that."

T.J only grunted and turned around to go back to asking the customers if they needed help with anything.

"He's just too uptight," Erin sighed, shaking her head. "So," she started, glancing down at the trivia card in her hand, "Who does General Shang's voice in Mulan?"

"Does anybody pay attention to that stuff?"

"Donny Osmond." Erin sounded disappointed as she handed me the card and grabbed the rest of the questions, stacking them up in a neat pile as I adjusted the mike. "What a disappointment. I was expecting somebody better looking."

"Life is full of disappointments."

An unlady like snort came from her mouth. "Yeah, no kidding."

Realizing I had probably just reminded Erin of everything in her life that was a disappointment (the list isn't a short one), I quickly switched subjects.

"So, Yoko and I actually talked to each other today."

"Am I supposed to remember who Yoko is?"

"She's Dai's girlfriend," I reminded her. "Considering I talk about Dai so much I thought you would remember the name of his girlfriend."

"You talk about Dai, not his girlfriend."

"I mention her sometimes. Anyway, I am actually almost feeling—" T.J walked by _again,_ shooting me an impatient look and I grabbed the mike. "Hello Shoe Carnival shoppers and good evening!" I should so be an announcer when I grow up. Or a TV host. "It is time for some Shoe Carnival trivia! If you are able to get the correct answer to our trivia question, you get to come up here and spin the wheel and win yourself a discount on today's purchase. Today's question is," I paused like they do on game shows and Erin snickered, "In Disney's Mulan, who did the voice over for General Shang? The first person to come up with an answer will get to spin the wheel. This will only be available for the next half hour, so think fast!"

The store immediately burst into conversation like it always did after we gave the trivia question. Some people really enjoy trying to figure out the answers to these questions.

"So, back to what I was saying, she was in my group for this Lit assignment and we actually started talking and I realized that she is really a great person. And not even a great person for a cheerleader, but an actually legit _great _person."

"Did you really think the guy you think is absolutely perfect is going to spend two and a half years dating a complete airhead?"

"The point is, was that I was actually feeling guilty. You know, every time she would bring him up she'd get this giant smile on her face and I'll feel guilty because I just think about the day he's finally going to break her heart and date me."

"All is fair in love and war."

"Erin!" She looked at me wide-eyed, silently asking me why I was yelling her name. "I need real thoughts and advice, not quotes."

"Real thoughts: it's completely natural to feel guilty since you do think about stealing her boyfriend every time you _don't _have a boyfriend. Real advice: you're going to have to figure out if _you _can handle the guilt if Dai ever decides to dump her for you."

"And if I can't get over the guilt?"

"Give up on Dai."

Well it looks like my decision has been made for me. I am going to have to suck it up and become ruthless. Who cares how happy Yoko is when she mentions Dai or that she was ready to have a long debate with Inuyasha, defending the fact that you can find your soul mate in high school? Really, I'm just going to have to be selfish.

Eh, I'll worry about that when the time comes.

"But since you're thinking about Dai so much lately, can I take it as a sign that you're not going to date Inuyasha? Because I told you that I won't sit by in silence if you choose to use Inuyasha as just a replacement for Dai."

No, I definitely don't want to talk about that right now.

"Who would you bet on to win in a fight—zombie or unicorn?"

"Unicorn," Erin answered, but she gave me a suspicious look before shrugging and letting the topic slide. "A unicorn is going to pierce right though a zombie's chest. Unless you're not talking about the cliché, slow and groaning zombies, then I might put my money on either one of 'em."

"You see," I said, "this is why you're one of my best friends."

_-x-_

_Guilt, guilt, go away, come again another day. Wait, no, that's wrong. Guilt should definitely stay away; it makes me feel uneasy._

-0-0-0-0-0-

**I had to add the zombies vs unicorn argument in here because I got this book, Zombies vs Unicorns, from the library and I had a long drawn out conversation with my sister at the library that carried all the way over until we got home. To my dismay, just about everyone I talked to picked unicorn. Zombies are just nasty so people pick unicorn, but if there was a war with zombies vs unicorns a zombie is going to kicked horned horse ass. I'm just saying. **

**It was hanmajo's idea to have Erin love her naptimes and since hanmajo created Erin, I had to include it. I know there wasn't much Inuyasha and Kagome interaction this chapter but I'll make up for it later. Anyway, please review!**

**~Kimiko888~**

**School, school go away come again another day. Wait, no, that's wrong. **

**~hanmajoerin**


	9. Distractions

**Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha, any songs, or Erin and Yaten**

**I had absolutely no plans to update this story so soon, but I had finished reading this amazing book (How To Say Goodbye in Robot-sad, but amazing) at 2:30 in the morning and I closed my eyes to go back to sleep when all of a sudden, I saw this entire chapter in my head. It played just like a movie. So then I had to write out the outline for this chapter and then actually start writing the chapter. I was sitting on my bed with a flashlight in my mouth trying to write as much as I could before sleep claimed me. I was up until 3:30 (and I have to get up at 5:20 to get ready to school) writing and I spent all of my classes this week writing instead of paying attention (FINALS ARE NEXT WEEK TOO!). So, anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter.**

**Walking Tightropes**

**Chapter 9: Distractions**

_The Odd-Ball Olympics is the first and last big event I am throwing for this school. I don't know how student council does it; planning events is _tiring.

-x-

"Kagome Higurashi, _you _are a genius."

I looked up from the notebook I was writing my latest short story in to see Yoko standing over my desk, grinning at me. She slapped a flyer for the Odd-Ball Olympics down on my desk and it finally clicked.

"Oh, no, I didn't really come up with that. Not by myself at least; Inuyasha helped me come up with the original idea. The entire staff helped come up with different events."

"Okay then, you're both geniuses," Yoko waved off. "Every time I see one of these on the back of a bathroom stall I can't help but get excited. Seriously, this is the best event of the year, no since Shikon _opened." _Yoko went to take her seat behind me and I turned around to keep talking to her. After we worked in that group together last week it was impossible to _not_ talk to Yoko. I eventually gave up putting myself through the trouble of trying to be short with her. "And I get a flyer every day without fail. _Shikon Times _has definitely mastered the art of advertisement."

"Yeah, well it's not easy getting up early to get here as early as possible to stuff flyers through the slits of every locker." The entire staff had to be here at 6:45 so we could split up and put flyers in every locker and nobody liked it. Kikyo was ready to wring my neck after her third day of having to get up at 4:30 (if she just cut back on the amount of primping she does in the morning, she wouldn't have this problem). "And the members that get stuck with the job of printing all the flyers at _Tsubaki's _every afternoon aren't exactly happy about having to deal with constant issues with their copier. But whatever," I shrugged. "It'll all pay off when we get to actually keep publishing the paper."

"Dai and I will definitely be there," Yoko promised. "Dai... he's really into the paper. Especially the 'Letters to the Editor'."

As if I didn't know that already.

"I'm holding you to that."

"I will be there," Yoko repeated. "So..." Yoko glanced over her shoulder quickly, "are you really okay with the prizes? You know, with Inuyasha?"

No, but it's not like I was going to admit to that. As long as I live in denial I will be able to handle the fact that Inuyasha will be kissing who knows how many girls for an entire week. You don't have to face your problems if you never admit to having any.

"I'll be fine," I told her. Seriously, who cares if Inuyasha is going to be giving out kisses and I can't even compete for one because I'm a stupid contestant? Girls paying to be kissed are just _desperate_. "It's not like we're dating or anything."

"Yet," Yoko pointed out as if my future was set is in stone. _You, Kagome Higurashi, _will _date Inuyasha Takahashi._

The bell rang and I turned to face the front, pulling out my homework (_more _analyzing of poems). I was surprised when Inuyasha slid into the seat next to me, his shirt wrinkled and his hair a mess. He didn't show up to school this morning, so I had to eat breakfast alone. It didn't occur to me until this morning that I still don't have Inuyasha's phone number so I wasn't able to call to see if he was okay. We talked to each other so much when we saw each other it never occurred to me that I should probably get his number.

"Where were you earlier?" I asked as Mr. Vyke shut the door and the class slowly began to settle down. "You missed Calculus."

"I_ skipped _Calculus," Inuyasha corrected me, digging through his book bag for his notebook. "I was on my way out the house when I was just hit with this amazing idea for a new song. Mass inspiration, if you will. So, before I could lose my thought, I had to write all the basics down and then I couldn't stop with just the basics and I started working on the harmony and then-" Inuyasha took a breath. "I just got caught up in my own little world. I would have called you but I don't have your number."

"Yeah, we should definitely trade numbers." I thought of us staying up until the one in the morning, just talking to each other on the phone. "Definitely."

"After class." Inuyasha dropped his notebook on his desk and flipped through the pages of what looked to be lyrics to me. "What was the Calculus homework?"

"Is there a point of telling you when you're just going to copy Sango's or my own homework?"

"Kagome," Inuyasha looked me in the eyes, "I have to do _some _of my homework on my own if I want to pass this class. I need passing grades for college."

I shook my head and told him the page numbers for tonight's homework. Mr. Vyke walked to the front of the class and immediately started talking about the poem we were given last night for homework. I immediately zoned out. I hate poetry.

I looked down at the flyer Yoko had left on my desk and sighed. _Everyone _was talking about the Odd-Ball Olympics which is a good thing when it comes to _Shikon Time's _funding, but it sucks for me. I didn't realize how much _planning _I have to do for this event. I have to organize the events, make sure each committee that is in charge of each day has all the needed materials, and I had to constantly change the list of which staff members were participating in which events because somebody is always changing their mind. It is really hectic in the "newsroom".

And then there is still a problem with the whole carnival thing. I still need to find a venue that will allow us to set everything up and won't charge us too much. And then there is planning where everything will go. And I still have to ask Inuyasha how he is coming along with getting the carnival games. I never brought it up when we were just hanging out together or eating breakfast because I don't like ruining our time together with "work".

It's not like the paper is put on hold either. People still have to make deadlines and I still have to edit the pieces after the editors for each section edited and then I have to work on the layout and get the photos in. Of course, if Aki ever took a fucking _good_ photo for once, I would also be able to cut out the time I have to spend begging Bank to slip the paper some of the pictures that were supposed to be for the yearbook. Thankfully, not all of our photographers suck. This week is a publishing week, which means I have tons of articles to look over, too many "Letters to the Editor" in my inbox, and all of this on top of the crap load of homework my teachers love to give.

I put my head down on my desk as Mr. Vyke droned on and on about the elements of a sonnet. My head hurt. My eyes were heavy and it was only Tuesday. There is no way in hell that I'm going to be able to survive this week.

"You see, Kagome," Inuyasha whispered as I started to close my eyes. "This is why people drink coffee. Strawberries don't give you that energy burst."

"At least my breath doesn't stink," I mumbled.

"I wouldn't be so sure."

"Shut up."

-x-

The problem with driving a car to school is that you have to wait in the ridiculously long line to get out of the student parking lot. You could sit in the line for twenty minutes before you get out on the actual road and if your luck is really bad (like mine) you get stuck in traffic. I've been caught behind a car that broke down on a one way street _twice _and I was ready to squeeze my brains out from the frustration. I have never really been a patient person.

Today, I am going to get home at a decent time so I won't be up past midnight doing work. As soon as the clock hit 2:10 I started packing my book bag up. I would be at the front of the car line to get out of school. And I was in the History hall which is closer to the student parking lots than other classes. By 2:11 Mr. Kahn was still going on about the Meiji Restoration but I already had my book bag on my back and my keys in my hand. I'm ready to dash out of there as soon as the bell rings.

"Ms. Higurashi," Mr. Kahn said, stopping his speech to look at me. "There are still four minutes left of my class. Unpack your stuff and continue taking notes until the final bell rings."

Mr. Kahn isn't on my favorite _or _hated teachers list. He annoys me so much that I can't be bothered to see his name on a mental list because it would just piss me off to no end.

"Seriously?" Mr. Kahn shot me a pointed look and I pulled my binder back out of my book bag. I'll just run out with my binder in my hand. By the time I opened back up to my notes there were only three minutes left of class, really only two since the afternoon announcements always came on a little bit before the final bell.

"So, as a quick review before you leave for today," Mr. Kahn started and I glanced at the clock. One more minute until the announcements. "Who can tell me which Egyptian pharoh was responsible for the Armana Revolution?" Nobody raised their hand. We were all waiting for the principal to come over the intercom. "Nobody? Maybe I need to keep you after to-"

"_Good Afternoon, Shikon Students." _I silently thanked Principal Tsukuyomaru for his perfect day. _"I hope you all had a knowledgeable day today and are going home with information you didn't know before. There are some bus changes today so please listen carefully to..."_

"Okay, I'm not going to be able to make it tomorrow morning," Kikyo said as she turned around in her seat to face me. "I have a doctor's appointment."

"You're not sick."

Kikyo faked a cough. "Shit. I think I'm coming down with that whooping cough stuff. I am _banned _from school if I have that."

"Kikyo, _everyone _is getting up early, so it's not like you're alone. Just suck it up for a few more days and-"

"Is it really necessary?" Kikyo cut me off. "Everybody already won't shut the hell up about it. I'm pretty sure our mission has been accomplished."

_"... A reminder to student drivers: you must have a parking pass if you park in the parking lot or your car will get a boot. And parking at the apartments is prohibited; they _will _tow your car. And finally, would the following students..."_

There were only a few seconds left until the bell rang. "Just be there," I told Kikyo.

"We'll see."

I didn't bother pushing the subject with Kikyo anymore; she would be there. I adjusted my book bag and grabbed my binder, leaning out of my seat, ready to take off. I looked over at Sango and she had her keys in her hands and was stuffing her boots in her book bag as quickly as she could. Sango has to work Tuesdays at _Smoothie King _right after school and can't afford to be late again. Her boots had a heel so they would only slow her down in her mad dash to her car.

"_Alright, drive safe-"_

Principal Tsukuyomaru's voice disappeared which meant that in a few seconds the bell was going to ring. I was already out of my seat and heading towards the door.

"Kagome and Sango," Mr. Kahn snapped. "The bell has _not-"_

The bell cut Mr. Kahn off and I bolted out of the classroom, Sango not very far behind me. Unfortunately, there are a few other people who drive that understand the importance of getting out of the parking lot early, so the halls were already starting to fill up with other drivers racing to the parking lot. We're not supposed to run in the halls, but Shikon really needs to fix the traffic problem before anybody actually starts to take that rule to heart.

"I cannot get bitched out again," Sango mumbled as she passed me, her socks picking up the dirt of the hall. "I'll see you tomorrow!" Sango called back to me as she rounded the corner.

I usually don't participate in the afternoon mad dash (hanging out in Mrs. Kido's room and waiting for the parking lot to clear up is a lot less strenuous), but I have way too much work to do as of lately to stay after school for an extra thirty minutes.

"Hey Kagome," Inuyasha called out to me as I started approaching him. He had his hands in his pockets and he looked relaxed. Lucky bastard. He probably likes waiting in the car line forever, enjoying the extra time he has with his music. "What's-"

"Can't stop, I have to get to the parking lot before it gets jammed," I explained to him as I ran past him. I looked back over my shoulder. "I'll call you-"

I was cut off when I ran into somebody and it momentarily knocked the wind out of me.

"You still don't look where you're going, I see." I looked up to see Kouga standing in front of me, his eyebrows raised and his arms crossed over his chest. "Why is it that you always run into me when I'm around?"

"Kouga!" I threw my arms around him in a quick hug. I haven't seen him since the gig (I've heard a lot of complaining about his ego though). "What are you doing here?"

"Ayame's car broke down yesterday so I'm picking her up." Kouga smirked at me. "Visitors get to park in the slots in front of the school so I don't get caught up in the crazy traffic. So glad I graduated."

"Shit!" I cursed, stomping my foot. "I'm supposed to be running to get out of here and you went and distracted me."

"My good looks do make girls lose their minds." Kouga looked over my shoulder and smirked, sliding his hands into his pockets. "'Sup' dickweed?"

"Asswipe," Inuyasha greeted as he came to stand next to me. "Why are you here?"

"I have to pick up my girlfriend, since, you know, I have the balls to actually go out and get one."

Inuyasha's amber eyes narrowed and I got the feeling that I was somehow being left out of the loop. "Shut the fuck up."

"I'm just saying," Kouga shrugged as his lips pulled up into a smug smile. "And Erin also told me to tell you that practice is canceled today. She got caught up at home. She didn't even make it to school."

"What happened?" I asked, worried. Erin canceled practices on very, _very _rare occasions.

Kouga shrugged, trying to come off as nonchalant, but his brow creased, giving the sign that he was worried too. "She just cancelled. She'll probably crash at one of our houses later. I'll call you," Kouga promised and I nodded my head. "But, the point is to tell dog-breath here that he's free tonight. You could, I don't know, grow a pair and do something you want."

"For two people to claim to hate each other you know a lot about one another," I pointed out, before Inuyasha and Kouga got into a verbal argument. "I feel completely out of your inner loop."

Kouga looked confused for a second before his sky blue eyes light up with amusement. "Would you like to fill her in, Inuyasha?"

"I'm good." Inuyasha turned to me as if he didn't just have a cryptic conversation with Kouga. "Why were you in such a hurry to get out of here?"

"Well, there's no point in rushing now," I sighed. "I wanted to get home early so I could start the crap load of work I have to do and be done at a decent time tonight. I've had a bunch of homework to do for the past few days and then I still have to edit pieces for the paper and get the Odd-Ball Olympics together and try to figure out this whole carnival deal. Which reminds me that I have to stop my Mrs. Kido's room to check my basket and look over the photos we have so far. Running to the car lot would have been completely pointless, now that I think about it."

"Would you like me to walk you to Mrs. Kido's room?" Kouga asked grinning. "I haven't seen her in a while."

"I think you have other responsibilities." Ayame came up around Kouga, wrapping her arm around his waist and he smiled down at her sheepishly before kissing her forehead. "And besides, Mrs. Kido isn't _that _hot."

"You're a girl so you don't understand," Kouga waved off. "You just tell yourself that so you don't feel insecure. Mrs. Kido is _smoking."_

"Kouga!"

"You told me to be honest with you while we're in this relationship," Kouga reminded Ayame and she just rolled her eyes. "She's only a few years older than me too. It might be nice to date a mature woman for a change." Ayame gasped and Kouga caught on a second too late that he was taking his joke too far. "I'm just kidding Ayame." He kissed her reluctant lips. "You ready to go?"

"Yeah." She released her hold on Kouga and gave me a quick hug. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Bye," I waved as the two started walking away. I then turned to Inuyasha. "You want to go to Mrs. Kido's room with me? We might as well burn some time before getting stuck in that ridiculously long line." Inuyasha shrugged as he took his iPod out of his pocket and slid the stereo headphones over where his ears would have been if they didn't rest on the top of his head. "I've always wondered about that."

"About what?" Inuyasha asked as we started down the hall and he scrolled through his music. I swear he has to have more than 1,000 songs on his iPod.

"How you used headphones and phones. I mean did you put them up to your actual ear or just put them where your ears would be if you weren't half demon and just use your super hearing to hear through the earpieces." I shrugged. "I just think about this stuff when I'm bored."

"So you think about me in your free time."

"No, stupid," I mumbled blushing. "I think about your _ears _in my free time. There is a huge difference."

When we got to Mrs. Kido's room I checked my basket to find a folder with the pictures in it and about four printed articles. I get the articles via email, but I prefer editing on paper because I can clearly see what needs to be fixed instead of having to scroll up and down a Word document. While I was getting everything together, Mrs. Kido talked with Inuyasha and I was proud of him for not falling into that trance she unconsciously put guys in.

"Are you ready to be a prize next week?" Mrs. Kido asked, gathering her papers.

"I think the girls are more excited than I am." I am starting to see that Inuyasha is actually kind of cocky. Of course, he does have the right to be cocky since he does have the looks, but still. "But I'm getting used to Kagome using me for her own benefit."

"_Excuse _me?" I turned around to face him, my eyebrows high on my forehead. "You said you were okay with this. I quote, 'What better way to make a transfer feel welcomed than letting him kiss a few girls.' You were in _love _with the idea."

"I am pretty sure you're over exaggerating about loving the idea. And besides, I thought I just had to kiss a few girls on the cheek, but you went and changed the rules around at the last second to get the crowd's attention." Inuyasha had an amusing glint in his eyes. "Face it, I'm being used for your own personal gain."

"It's for the _paper." _I shook my head and turned back to Mrs. Kido. "There weren't any changes to who's competing in which event, right?"

"Not that I know of. Nobody stopped by to tell me anything, but you should probably check your email later on tonight. Aki might have changed his event again."

"Of course." Stupid Aki. "Okay then, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Alright. And don't forget to have the advertising committee make some posters about which events are each day. I know you're having it in the paper, but you want to make sure the people who don't buy the paper know what's going on next week."

"Okay."

"And make sure to remind everyone that the deadline is tomorrow. You've been editing the pieces that you've already gotten, right? I'd hate for things to pile up on you the last second."

"I've got it all together," I assured Mrs. Kido. I grabbed Inuyasha's arm and started pulling him towards the door. "Bye!"

"Bye Kagome. It was nice to finally meet you, Inuyasha!"

I waved to Mrs. Kido over my shoulder before we started down the hall. I watched Inuyasha slide his headphones back on (it still looked funny) and glanced back over his shoulder to Mrs. Kido's room, nodding to himself. He was smiling.

"What was that?"

"What?" Inuyasha asked innocently, looking down at me.

"That nod and smile thing you just did." I narrowed my eyes at him in suspicion. "You think she's hot, don't you?"

"_Duh,_" Inuyasha laughed as if I was stupid for asking. My mouth fell open. "Don't give me that look, Kagome. I _am _a guy."

"Yeah, well I just thought you wouldn't be _that _guy." I love Mrs. Kido - she's my number one teacher for getting recommendations from - but it's annoying how she enchants the guys at this school without even trying. I mean, why can't _I _do that? Not that I want every guy's attention, just a few.

"What gave you that impression?"

"I... I don't know." Wishful thinking? Probably. "I was just stereotyping you as a deep kind of musician again."

"I was just being honest with you." We turned down the hall on our right that led to the student parking lot. "I'm not going to run to the newsroom every day after class like Bankoutsu to see her, or obsess about her; I'm just stating the obvious fact that Mrs. Kido is hot." Inuyasha smirked then. "And since I'm hot the two of us would make beautiful music together."

"Ew!" I slapped Inuyasha's arm and he laughed. "Guys are so... ew."

"At least I'm not like Miroku."

"Thank _God." _

I smiled up at Inuyasha as we reached the end of the hall and he opened the door that led outside for me. It was amazing how easily Inuyasha fit into my group of friends. It wasn't like he was new at all. It felt like all of us had known him for years.

"You should hear the things he says about the girls in our Weight Management class." Inuyasha shook his head. "He is the true definition of a pervert."

"But I _do_ hear what he says! Ayame catches some of his conversations and decides that it's unfair for her to suffer and shares what Miroku says with me." I shuddered at the bits of conversations Ayame has relayed to me. "Sango is amazing for dating him."

"She knows how to tame him," Inuyasha concluded. We came to my car first and Inuyasha leaned against the car that was still parked next to mine, sliding his hands into his pockets. He looked at the line of cars that wrapped around the parking lot. "Damn. The line is longer than usual."

"This is why I was running through the halls," I sighed. I unlocked my car and tossed my book bag into the passenger's seat. "Stupid Kouga. Getting me distracted."

"You're actually really easy to distract. The second things start getting boring in class you're writing or reading a book."

"That's because classes are _boring,_" I pointed out and Inuyasha laughed. "I need to go before that line gets any longer."

"Okay, I'll see you later."

"Okay, that saying right there?" I turned my back to my open door and looked up at Inuyasha instead of getting in my car. "I _hate _that saying."

Inuyasha seemed to think over what I just said before shaking his head. "I tried thinking of all the reasons why someone would hate that saying but I can't think of one."

"It's just used incorrectly," I explained. "When you say 'I'll see you later' what you really mean is, 'I'll see you _tomorrow.'"_ I gave my shoulders a shrug. "I don't know, it's just a pet peeve, I guess. A lot of people use that saying wrong and it kind of drives me insane."

"That's a really unique pet peeve."

"Don't tease me." I turned back around and slid into my car. "Just don't say 'I'll see you later' unless you're planning to see me again in the same day. I let you get away with it the first two weeks, but I realize you're going to be around for a while so I just had to set you straight today."

"How'd you know I wasn't planning to drop by Shoe Carnival today and visit you at work?"

"Because I don't work today." I put the key in the ignition and started my car, turning on the heat and hitting a few of my presets before finding a radio station that wasn't on a commercial break.

"But last week you-"

"I alternate every week from working Monday, Wednesday, Friday to Monday, Tuesday, Friday. I don't work Tuesday this week."

Inuyasha's brows furrowed. "Why do you have a fucked up schedule?"

"Because I'm a fucked up person." I closed my door and rolled my window down. "I'll see you _tomorrow," _I said and Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "_That _is how it's done."

"Bye Kagome," Inuyasha said as he started walking towards his car, tossing his hand over his shoulder in a lazy goodbye. I watched him for a few seconds before I finally snapped out of whatever daze I was in and backed out of my parking space to sit behind an obnoxiously big Hummer for 20 minutes.

-x-

Being a senior sucks.

Don't get me wrong, it has it perks (leaving ten minutes early on Fridays, Senior Banquet, Senior pictures, Senior section at games, holding fear over tiny freshmen, etc.), but there are a lot of things to not like about being a senior. One of those things are college applications.

Writing essays, putting together portfolios, and building up my resume to make it look flattering is a lot more stressful than you'd think. Especially since I thought it would be great to apply to five colleges (all with amazing writing programs). Having to write five different essays and put together five different portfolios in hopes of getting into an advanced creative writing program before my senior year is not something that is fun. I could just use the same essay and change a few words around (all my prompts are basically the same; why is (insert school name) special to you?) and use the same pieces for all my writing portfolios, but that's unfair. Every school I applied to is special to me, each of them had something unique that I loved, and none of them deserved my first pick's sloppy seconds.

I have notebooks filled with short stories (and long stories, but I'm not using those in my portfolios) that date all the way back to sixth grade. My writing style wasn't the most impressive six years ago, but the plotlines were good and after editing the short stories they're now up to par with my current day writing. At least, they are in my opinion. I still needed people to read over them.

Another problem with being a senior is that I'm still expected to do all my work. At least until first semester is over and colleges start accepting people. After the first semester all I have to do is keep my GPA up so the schools don't decline my offer after they receive my final transcript.

The point is, I have to get through first semester which means I actually have to do my homework, and that really sucks when you look at some of my classes (Calculus, AP English, AP World History). Taking three college courses really knows how to bury me in homework and tests. And even though I'm going to have to still take those AP classes next semester, it's not as important as it is first semester. This is not good for me when I'm an easily distracted individual.

As soon as I got home (at 3:00 which is ridiculous since we get out at 2:15 and I don't live more than ten minutes away) I immediately got to work on editing the four articles that were in my bin (championship football game, Kikyo's advice to pressure, the cover story for the Odd-Ball Olympics, and Raiden's movie review). After going through each of the articles, I pushed them aside and tried starting the outline on the culture of ancient Egypt Mr. Kahn had assigned for homework. I got through half of Religion section (about 1/4 of what I was assigned to complete) before my hand started to cramp and I took a break and checked out for my daily dose of humor. After an hour of reading posts on FMyLife I picked up my Calc homework only to see that it was really confusing and put it back down to watch _The Office _on my computer for two hours. Then I actually did all of my Lit homework (there are amazing people who have analyzed _I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings _online) and then I picked up _How To Say Goodbye in Robot _and read that book until dinner.

Being a senior with all these responsibilities and actually having to do work is really, _really _hard. I have all these things that are so much better to do just sitting in my room, taunting me. _Of course, _I'm going to chose to watch a hilarious TV show over actually doing stupid World History homework; it's the way our bodies were made. Pleasure will always beat responsibility. So it's now 7:30 and I'm going to be up until midnight probably, trying to do my homework.

I picked up my phone a couple of times and thought about calling Inuyasha and asking him if he understood our Calculus homework. It was a really good excuse to call until I remembered Inuyasha never does his Calc homework _and_ he wasn't in class today. I just got his phone number today too and I don't want to come off as too eager. But I really don't understand my Calc homework...

I finished the Religion part of my history outline before I decided I needed to get something to eat. The second I walked downstairs I could hear Souta's video games blasting from the living room. Oh, to be in seventh grade again and finish your homework at a reasonable time.

"Hey honey," Mom greeted me when I walked into the kitchen. She was cleaning the dinner dishes while Jii-chan sat at the kitchen table working on a crossword puzzle. "How's your homework going?"

"I'm almost done," I lied. "I just needed a little brain food." I opened the freezer and saw strawberry swirl ice cream just waiting for me to dig a spoon into it.

"Oh, well there are some baby carrots in the fridge." Mom looked over her shoulder at me. "You are still trying to eat healthy, right?"

Mothers. They always know how to remind you of things you are glad you forgot.

"Right." I shut the freezer and opened the fridge, grabbing the bag of carrots that sat on the second shelf. I am doing this for my health. "Carrots. Yum."

I washed a few off and dumped them in a bowl then started carrying them back upstairs with me. I stopped by the living room just to walk in front of the T.V and mess Souta up on his game. It just seems unfair that he can freely enjoy his video games without the burdens of homework while I can't.

"Wassup Doc?" I quoted Bugs Bunny as I bit into a carrot, standing right in the middle of the T.V. I turned around to stare at the screen. "What game is this?"

"Kagome!" Souta shouted when I finally moved out of the way. "You made me die!"

"Don't blame me for your mistakes," I lectured him. "You should get better eyesight."

"Kagome!" Souta shouted at me again, looking frustrated. "Mom!"

"Okay, okay, I'm leaving." I walked past him towards the stairs. "Brat."

"Bitch."

I turned around, my jaw dropping and my eyes open wide. "Did you just... Mo-"

"If you tell her, I'll her you lost your virginity," Souta hissed and I almost choked and died on the pieces of carrot I was chewing. How the hell does he know that? "You talk way too loud when you're on the phone."

"Bastard," I mumbled as I stomped up the stairs. _That _is why I'm working so hard to get into college. I _cannot _stay here with Souta for another year. That stupid kid knows way too much.

I put another carrot in my mouth once I got to my room and went to check my email before actually trying to really do my homework. I also needed to send a reminder to people who haven't turned in their articles yet that the deadline is tomorrow. Even though I remind everyone of the deadline every week we publish the paper some people still chose to not turn it in on Wednesday.

There was an email from Aki saying that he had a last minute suggestion that we should have some team events like photographers vs. editors or columnist vs. reporters. It was actually a good idea that I decided to file it in my memory to think about later. Sango also sent me her column that I printed out to edit tomorrow during classes.

I clicked on the email titled Letter to the Editor that was waiting at the top of my inbox.

_Hey, are you busy tonight? Great. I'll pick you at your house at 8:00._

_-Inuyasha_

The carrot fell out of my mouth as my jaw went slack and my mouth fell open. He… he just asked—no, _told _me we were going out via email. And even though it was completely original and I love the surprise, _what the hell! _I mean, "I'll pick you up at eight"? He can't just spring that on me! What time is it anyway?

I looked in the lower right corner of my screen. It's 7:59!

Shit. How am I supposed to get ready in a minute? No, less than a minute since I have no idea how long it's been 7:59. I looked at my closet and then at the piles of dirty clothes collecting on my floor. I've been so busy with the newspaper—and simply ignoring my chores to clean up—I never got around to washing my clothes! God, do I even _have _anything to wear?

I was about to look through my closet when I heard the doorbell ring and I whipped my head around to look at my alarm clock. It was still 7:59. He's early!

"I got it!" I heard Souta yell from downstairs and I tore form my room in panic. He can't open the door when I still look like crap!

"No Souta!" I shouted as I ran down the hall and to the steps. "Don't open it, don't open it, don't open it. DON'T OPEN—"

"Jeez, if you really didn't want to go out, you could have replied to the email," Inuyasha said as Souta flung the door open, but he was smiling when he spoke and my heart stopped beating for a second as I came to a stop at the bottom of the steps.

"Well, I just got the email so I didn't have time to reject you."

"Just like I planned," Inuyasha said smiling again, his eyes dancing with amusement.

"Oh, it's just another one of your dates," Souta mumbled, rolling his eyes. "I thought it was someone important."

"Just go back to your video games," I told him and he stuck out his tongue at me but headed towards the living room anyway to continue shooting Storm Troopers.

"You ready to go?" Inuyasha asked once Souta was completely out of sight. "I left the car running so…"

"Oh! Well, um, I kind of need to get dressed, so—"

"You're not dressed now?" Inuyasha asked, raising a brow at me.

"Well, _technically, _yes, but I'm not really dressed for a… a, um, date yet." I blushed, wondering if Inuyasha even considered this a date.

"You look fine," Inuyasha insisted, still smiling and I was glad he decided this was a date too. Or he just chose to avoid the topic all together… "Very down to earth."

Oh man, he knew just what to say.

"Come on Kagome," Inuyasha urged, tilting his head towards his car that was waiting in front of my house. "You look great."

I was still wearing the skinny jeans I had on during school, but I had traded my zebra-print shirt in for Dad's old college sweatshirt that was gray and had 'Tokyo University' across the chest in orange. It went down to the middle of my thigh, the sleeves completely engulfed my hands, and it did nothing to flatter the shape of my body. My hair was piled up in messy bun on top of my head, I had on no make-up and, God, I was wearing my glasses. But Inuyasha was still smiling at me and I had a feeling that he actually really did like the way I looked.

Still…

"Oh, uh… alright then. Just… let me go grab my purse," I told him. "I'll meet you at your car." Before he had the chance to stop me I was bolting up the steps to my room.

Inuyasha may like the way I look, but I wasn't going to give him plain and simple on the first date—if that's what this is. I sprayed some body spray my mom had gotten me last week—she caught a deal at _Bed, Bath, &Beyond—_into the air and ran back and forth through the mist. I put a pair of tiny silver hoops in my ears and put the small stud I found after a lot of searching into the cartilage of my left ear. I then grabbed my purse and shoved my feet into the checkered slip on Vans I bought last year with my birthday money.

I quickly sent out the deadline reminder and then ran out the house with a fleeting goodbye as I rushed down the steps while pulling my hair out of its bun. When I walked out the front door, I was all too happy to see Inuyasha leaning over the passenger seat to push my door open for me, smiling at me when he saw me coming.

Just a feeling, but this is going to be the best date of my life.

-x-

_If teachers really want me to do my homework they should try to get the world to stop making distractions so easy to access. Seriously, if you had to choose between a dog-eared hottie asking you out and Calculus homework, which would you choose?_

_Exactly._

**_-0-0-0-0-0-_**

**_So, when I sent this to hanmajo to edit I still had a week before finals, but now Finals start tomorrow. Lucky me. Besides updating I've cleaned out my biology binder, listened to hours of music, eaten dinner, read some, and checked out FML for funny posts. How much studying have I done? None. Anyways, I hope you liked this chapter! This was actually supposed to be part 1 because I was going to include the date in this chapter as well, but it was too much so I was going to keep writing to have the date chapter posted not long after this, but... uh, yeah. I got distracted and I haven't even started that chapter so you might have to wait a bit for the chapter. But who doesn't love suspense, right? It would be SUPER awesome if you REVIEW! it will make up for the fact I have to take my math exam tomorrow._**

**_~Kimiko888~_**

**And that's all folks!**

**~hanmajoerin**


	10. Night Out

**Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha, Erin, Yaten, or Midnight Blues**

**I had no idea this chapter was going to be this long. I'm pretty sure I've never written a chapter this long before, but now you guys have plenty to read. I think I can thank all the dialogue for the length. I figured I can get some typing in while I'm on SPRING BREAK! I was actually supposed to have this chapter done on Friday (April 15), but I got distracted as usual.**

**Walking Tightropes **

**Chapter 10: Night Out**

_You can learn a ton about someone by playing 20 questions. Example: _

_Q: Do you have a girlfriend?_

_A: No._

_Bam! You've just found out that one hot bod is on the dating market._

-x-

"No," I started, slapping Inuyasha's hand away from the CD slot. "I'm picking the CD this time."

"But this one is really—"

"I don't want to hear it," I cut him off, holding up my hand. "Every time we're in Triple G you choose the music and I think it's about time I get to pick."

"Kagome," Inuyasha sighed as we approached a red light and I unbuckled my seatbelt, "you can't name my car. It's mine."

Last week I gave Inuyasha's car the fitting name of the Gas Guzzling Giant. He drives this ridiculously big, black Silverado that can barely fit into a parking space. It's the reason why the world is going to be all out of natural resources in ten years, but for some reason Inuyasha still drives it. Triple G is just a nickname used for short.

"If you think of a better name, I will take back Triple G." I lifted myself out of the seat and leaned over the console to search the back seat for a CD to listen to. Inuyasha keeps his favorite CDs in the armrest, but I've heard all of those already, so, I was daring to search through the stacks of discs that populated Inuyasha's back seat. I stretched so the top half of my body was in the back of the car and I flipped through the first stack of CDs. "I honestly have no idea who half these bands are."

"How about we name it— what the hell are you doing!" I looked over my shoulder to see Inuyasha staring at me. I guess he didn't realize I climbed into the back until just then. "Are you trying to get me pulled over?"

"You can't get pulled over because we're at a red light and we're not moving." I pushed my glasses up my nose and moved to reach a few CDs that were under Inuyasha's seat. "Do you keep all your CDs in your car or something? Seriously, this is like..."

"A true CD collection," Inuyasha finished for me. "But no, I have a lot more at home. You don't put all your eggs in one basket. Hurry up, Kagome, the other light just turned yellow."

"Fine, fine," I grabbed the next CD I touched and pulled myself back into my seat. "How many CDs do you have? You know, just ball park."

"I don't know, a lot?" Inuyasha took the CD from me and read the title before shrugging his shoulders. "Not bad, but my original choice was much better."

"Of course you'd say that." I took the CD back as the light turned green and opened up the case to slide it in. "What are the best tracks on here?"

"Why don't you just listen to the whole thing?"

"Well, considering I don't know where we're going or how long it's going to take to get there, I want to hear all the good songs first."

"They're all good." Inuyasha shrugged as he switched lanes. "And there's always the ride back."

"Fine," I huffed and crossed my arms as the music started up. We were silent through the first verse and the chorus. The band—Marianas Trench—wasn't a bad band to fill the silence. "Why can't you just tell me where we're going?"

Inuyasha smiled and shook his head. "Surprises are good."

"Inuyasha," I whined. I hate anticipation because I hate having to wait. "_Please._"

"I'm not going to tell you. If you decide you think it's stupid, I don't have anything else besides this planned so I'd have to take you back home and I really don't... want to," Inuyasha mumbled, running his hand through his hair.

"Oh my." I placed my hand over my chest. "Is Inuyasha being _bashful? _Is... Is that a _blush _I see?"

"Kagome, please." Inuyasha looked over at me with pleading eyes and I couldn't help but smile at him. "My pride is already on the line as to whether or not you'll like the—where we're going," he caught himself. Damn, I was so close too. "Please don't make me feel like a teenage girl."

"I'm a teenage girl, jerk!" I shouted, hitting him in his arm. "And it feels pretty damn good to be one, thank you very much. And, if you ask me, your ego could use a little bashing. With all these girls going crazy over you, Erin praising you for your guitar magic, and with your own cockiness I'm the only one that can bring your head back to a normal size." I sat up in my seat and cleared my throat. "For example, you are a lazy bum that never accomplishes his schoolwork. Do you know what colleges take lazy bums? None."

"Ouch. That kind of hurt." Inuyasha looked at me out of the corner of his eye and smirked. "But I must point out that you're really lazy when it comes to working out. Honestly, you're not going to get that stomach toned if you keep doing those sit-ups the way you're doing them." He reached over and poked my stomach. "Just look at all that flab."

"Inuyasha!" I would have hit him in the head if it weren't for the fact that, at the moment, he was driving and holding my life in his hands. "Don't be such an asshole. And we're bashing _your _ego, not mine, so don't go flipping the script."

"Okay, I'm sorry. Please, continue bashing my ego. What else do you have against me?"

"Well... you, uh... um..." I couldn't be out of ammo this early in the game! Really, Inuyasha was not _all _that. "You're destroying the planet with this truck!"

"Not so wounded by that one."

"You're a coward!" I shouted, yelling the first thing that came to mind.

"Really?" Inuyasha quirked a brow as he continued looking out the window. "Care to elaborate on that?"

"You don't have the balls to do what you really want to do, right?" I pointed a finger at him when his face sort of fell. "Ha! I'm right! That's what Kouga said in your... weird conversation earlier and he wasn't just yanking your chain. You're a coward. Inuyasha is a coward," I sang over the music and Inuyasha was just shaking his head. "So, what are you so afraid of doing?"

"That's kind of a secret," Inuyasha said as he switched lanes. "But I'm slowly working my way up to accomplishing that goal."

"You're kind of annoying me with all this secretive talk."

"Everyone is entitled to their privacy," Inuyasha pointed out.

"Not if we're going to friends and this is where our relationship is headed, right?" I looked over at Inuyasha and he nodded his head. "Okay, so let's get to know each other better. What is your favorite pick-up line?"

"I don't use pick-up lines. They're corny."

Right, he uses his unbelievably good looks to pick-up girls. _Duh. _

"Well, you're no fun. I'll tell you my favorite pick-up line then."

"You pick up guys with pick-up lines?"

"Only the really cute ones." Inuyasha turned to give me a funny look, not believing me. "No, I don't use pick-up lines, but I like the ones that make me laugh."

"So if a guy can get you to laugh with a cheesy pick-up line, you'll actually give him the time of day?"

"Pretty much."

"Can I get an example?"

"How much does a polar bear weigh?"

"Uh—"

"Enough to break the ice; hi, I'm Kagome." I started laughing and Inuyasha just shook his head. "But isn't that funny? I saw it on the trailer for Hall Pass and it took me _forever _to get it."

"Wow… you're a special one."

"That's what they say." I sat back in my seat, pulling a knee up to my chest. "But seriously, what's your favorite pick-up line, even if you don't use them?"

"Okay then, can—"

"And it has to be funny," I cut Inuyasha off before he could even start his sentence.

"I thought we were talking about _my_ favorite pick-up line, not what makes Kagome laugh."

"The only good pick-up lines are the funny ones. You never get a girl's attention if you give her a serious pick-up line. It's the funny part that makes her laugh and makes her pay attention to you. You know, as long as she's not a bitch," I added. "Kikyo is not a fan of pick-up lines. Not that she's a super bitch or anything. She just… has her moods."

"Can I go now?" Inuyasha asked and I nodded my head. "I'm feeling a little off today, would you like to turn me on?"

I was quite for a second. "Attention world, we have discovered another flaw in Inuyasha's character: He. Is. A. Perv."

"That was not a perverted pick-up line," Inuyasha argued. "Do you want to hear a really perverted pick-up line? Like, a Miroku level pick-up line?"

"Not really. I just like the funny ones. And I guess your pick-up line was _okay."_

"I've got plenty more stored in my head."

"I thought you didn't use pick-up lines." Inuyasha just shrugged as he slowed down for the red light. "Well, we have all night to hear your wonderful collection, but on to the next question. What—"

"Nope, it's my turn," Inuyasha cut me off. "That is the rule for twenty questions, right? People alternate between questions?"

"I don't remember saying we were actually playing a game…"

"What do you want to be when you grow up?"

"Take me back to Kindergarten, why don't you?" I teased, but Inuyasha's cheeks actually reddened a bit. He seemed to be more nervous than usual. "Didn't I—oh my God, I didn't! All those mornings we spent eating breakfast together and I never told you I wanted to be a writer? Wow, this is a shock." I sat back in my seat and put my hand over my chest. "I usually make it pretty clear I'm going to write the best novel ever to everyone I meet."

"Makes me feel special to be left out of the loop."

"Now you know how it feels," I said, pointing my finger at him. "I was actually working on the portfolios I'm putting together to go with my applications to get me into an advanced creative writing program before you decided to steal me away. I was working on this one story where this girl's brother is killed by some unknown malicious murderer and when she goes to investigate things for herself, it turns out her brother was killed by some supernatural monster. It's going to be a horror which I don't usually do, but I'm trying to challenge myself." I shrugged my shoulders and played with the hem of Dad's sweatshirt. "There are actually a lot more conflicts in the story, but it's too complicated to explain all at once."

"I think I'm going to have to read your stories now," Inuyasha said, looking away from the road to give me a quick grin. "You've got me interested."

"Only after I can hear one of the songs you write down in your notebook."

"Fair enough."

"Okay then, it's my turn to ask the next question, since I already know you want to work in the music or film business." I smiled at him, tilting my head to the side. "Is Inuyasha Takahashi a night or day kind of guy?"

"You're seriously asking me _that_?" Inuyasha asked, looking at me with a raised brow. "I obviously hoot with the night owl, in case you miss the number of times I fall asleep during calculus."

"Right… that was a stupid question. I want another one."

"No can do," Inuyasha laughed. "So tell me Kagome, what is something most people don't know about you?"

"I like to read?" I offered and Inuyasha just shook his head.

"If we're going to be close friends, we're going to have to do some deep digging to get to _really _know each other." Inuyasha casted a look in my direction, "we're going to be close friends, right?"

I think I was smiling too much when I answered. "Of course."

"Alright then. Share something with me not many people know."

I thought for a second. "So you know _Titanic_?"

"Another obvious question; of course I know _Titanic_, Kagome. It was considered to be a phenomenal movie so I did actually take the time to watch it since I _do _want to work in the film industry."

"Okay, sheesh. I just didn't know if you were really going to sit and watch a long romance movie." I looked out my window before continuing, because for some reason I couldn't find the nerve to look at Inuyasha when I told him this. "You know how everybody thinks the most romantic part is when Jack and Rose are at the front of the ship, standing on the railing, and Rose says she's flying?"

"Yeah."

"Well, I don't. I think the most romantic part is when Rose jumps off the lifeboat for Jack. At that exact moment when she jumps off I can just _feel _the love between the two. It's just… I don't know, it means so much more to me that she jumps off the boat. And the way that entire scene played out, the way she was looking at him as they lowered the boat with the flares going off behind him, the way they ran to each other, how he was telling her she was so stupid and kissing her at the same time; I love it. It just makes me smile because _that _is love. 'You jump, I jump.'" I turned around to look at Inuyasha who was glancing back and forth between me and the road. "_Nobody_ knows that about me."

"Is it really such a secret that you like a romantic scene from a romantic movie?" Inuyasha asked, his brows furrowing together. "Isn't that the prototypical teenage girl thought?"

"Most people don't think I'm capable of romance. Love is supposedly a foreign concept to me."

"Why?"

"You don't have to play dumb," I mumbled, rolling my eyes and looking back out of my own window. "I'm not stupid. I know guys talk about me in the locker room and I know they've told you all kinds of stuff." The worst part is that some of the stuff they probably tell him is actually true. "Right?"

Inuyasha was silent.

"Ryuuji didn't call me the easiest smart girl for nothing," I said, looking at the shops that flew by as Inuyasha drove down the street and trying not to cry. I _refuse _to let Inuyasha see me in tears because that is just _so _pathetic. "I have a 'reputation' at school. I'm a—"

"You're not…" Inuyasha cut me off, speaking through clenched teeth. "You're not _that. _Those guys are just assholes who are mad about getting dumped. Don't listen to them, Kagome. They're all just being bitter. I don't listen to anything they say so you… you should just drown them out too."

"Hmm…" I hummed in reply, still looking out the window. It was nice that Inuyasha chose not to believe those guys, but I knew that some of what they said was true. I wasn't as innocent as I would like to be.

"I'm serious, Kagome." Inuyasha looked away from the road and I finally looked at Inuyasha. He stared into my eyes, trying to convey his message through telepathy. "They're just… pricks, bastards, douche bags, whatever. They're not worth your time."

I looked into Inuyasha's amber eyes for a few seconds longer than necessary before I figured it was important for him to start looking at the road again.

"You're going to be a great friend," I told him, smiling to lift the atmosphere. My strategy to ignoring the rumors about me was simple: pretend like they don't exist. I had seriously messed up by bringing the topic up with Inuyasha. Now I needed to make it all disappear. "So, buddy, what's something nobody knows about you?"

"I used to dress up in a maid suit and serve my mom when she was sick to make her laugh."

My jaw dropped. "No you didn't."

Inuyasha's face was bright red as he nodded. "I did. The doctor said keeping her in a good mood would have a slightly better chance of improving her life expectancy."

Doctors. I hated doctors because Dad had to see them a lot and they didn't do much to help him. Considering the look on Inuyasha's face—the distant look people get when they're remembering someone who died—they didn't do much for his mom either.

"So, do you look good in a skirt?" I asked, wanting to steer away from any more serious topics tonight. I wanted to have fun with Inuyasha. "Or better yet, do you still have the costume so I can be the judge for myself."

"No, I burned that thing when… not long before I moved in with my dad." Inuyasha forced himself to smile at me, also wanting to keep tonight light and fun. At that moment I wished Triple G had a bench seat in the front so I could slide over and rest my head on Inuyasha's shoulder, to tell him it was alright.

I almost shuddered. That was a very girlfriend thing to want to do which is odd since Inuyasha and I have only known each other for a little over a week. But, then again, friends can comfort each other that way too. Right?

"We're here," Inuyasha announced, snapping me out of my thoughts. He was turning into a parking lot that looked pretty abandoned for a weeknight and a neon green sign was lit up on top of the building.

"The arcade?" I asked as Inuyasha pulled into a spot. "We're going to the arcade?"

"We're _at _the arcade," Inuyasha corrected me as he pulled his keys out of the ignition, reaching under his seat to pull out a huge plastic bag of quarters. He looked at my face and sighed, shaking his head. "You see, this is why I didn't tell you where we were going. You obviously don't like it so now I'm going to have to take you back home and—"

"No," I stopped him, throwing my hand up. "I love the arcade, I promise. I just… I wasn't expecting this."

"What were you expecting?"

A coffee shop where local musicians perform or a bar where a great band was playing like Erin always went to during the nights. Or a club.

"Typical band member kinds of hangouts," I told him as I got out of the car. "I'm sorry, I keep stereotyping you."

"You do." Inuyasha led the way towards the building. "When will you understand I'm not like all the rest?"

"I'm slowly starting to get that you're one of a kind."

"Damn right. You cannot replicate all this," Inuyasha said, motioning to his body and I rolled my eyes.

"And the arrogance makes its reappearance." Inuyasha held the door open for me and I stepped inside the arcade. "It's good to see you at least have manners."

"All women and wenches first." Inuyasha stepped in behind me, smirking at the look I was giving him. "You would be the latter."

"Latest on Inuyasha ego bashing: he is a complete asshole." Inuyasha laughed as I pretended to hold a mike up to my mouth. "He has no idea how to properly treat a lady."

"I know how to _entertain _the ladies," Inuyasha declared, waving to a girl working the prize counter as we ventured into every hardcore gamer's wet dream. Seriously, there were games _everywhere. _

"What makes you think that?"

Inuyasha smirked at me. "If I received a nickel for every time I saw someone as beautiful as you, I would have five cents."

I tried to bite my lip to keep from laughing, but I failed at trying to contain my wide spread grin. "That's not fair. You know pick-up lines are my weak spot!"

"I got you smiling," Inuyasha said, smiling back at me and then he stopped walking all of a sudden, staring at my face.

"What?"

"Did… Did the sun come up, or did you just smile?"

"Stop it," I laughed, pushing a gleeful Inuyasha forward. "You know your pick-up lines, I get it. But just so you know, that one wasn't funny. It was… complimenting in a cheesy way."

"It was still pretty good."

"Whatever. So, what game are we going to play first?"

"I think I'll be a gentleman and let you pick first."

I looked around the practically empty arcade slowly, trying to decide which game I had a better chance at beating Inuyasha in. Considering my arcade experience didn't exceed Chuck E. Cheese, I highly doubt I will beat Inuyasha at anything. And when I did go to Chuck E. Cheese I always played the games where you hit a button to stop the bar or the wheel to try and win 500 tickets because I really wanted a lava lamp. These games looked _advanced; _I was clearly out of my league.

"I like shooting." I finally decided seeing a game with two huge guns and a giant screen to the right. Above it were angry looking robots and it read: _Terminator Salvation. _I turned to Inuyasha and pointed. "Let's play that one first."

"I haven't played that one, actually." I smiled at my brilliant choice. "I think both players actually work together."

Am I a genius or what? Now I really can't lose to Inuyasha.

We walked over to the game and I picked up one of the ginormous guns, examining all the buttons on it. I counted a total of five. This should be easy enough. I watched Inuyasha feed the machine eight quarters (definitely out of the Chuck E. Cheese league. All their games are one token) and then I hit the flashing blue button on my side and Inuyasha hit his red button, starting the game.

"Alright, so you hold the two buttons at the front down when you shoot in order to aim, the button on top is to launch grenades, and the button on the bottom of the handle is to reload."

"I thought you said you haven't played this game before."

"I haven't," Inuyasha shrugged and then pointed to the diagram that was taped to the game. "But I can understand a diagram."

"I just happened to overlook that." Inuyasha shook his head and leveled his gun to get ready for the first attack. "What exactly are we killing?"

"Robots."

The screen then displayed a barren battle ground with what looked like a huge spaceship (or whatever) resting in the middle. Our characters were hiding behind a hill and some guy was giving us a background on the situation, but I didn't understand much of the military talk. I figure with shooting games, it's not important thought. You point, you shoot, you kill, you win. Easy.

"Alright, Kagome." I pressed the two buttons down at the front of the barrel, ready to shoot. "Don't let any through."

"I'll try."

Tall, people-looking robots popped up on screen and started making their way towards us and I immediately started holding down my trigger, moving my gun back and forth as if I had a flame thrower instead of a machine gun. See. This wasn't hard at all.

"Do you think you could try _aiming?" _Inuyasha asked, pointing and shooting his gun with purpose. "I don't want my money to go to waste so soon if we die this early."

"I don't need to point. Look! They're all dying."

"Because _I'm _killing them."

"Pish posh," I waved off. "You're not good enough to kill _all _of them. I must have killed—hey! My gun isn't shooting anymore!"

"Reload!"

I hit the button at the bottom of my handle and looked back up at the screen to see a robot five feet away from me and I quickly shot it only to see three more behind it. "Wait a second. This is a little _too _many robots."

"It's a robot takeover!" Inuyasha cried out, trying to fight a smile while he shot. "What exactly did you expect?"

"Something easier!" It seemed like six of them were gaining up on us and I started to panic even though I was only playing a video game. I closed my eyes and just held my trigger down, hoping I would kill some alien robots.

"Open your eyes, Kagome!" Inuyasha shouted, holding back his laughter. "Is this how you would act if you had a real gun?"

"This is why I _don't _have a real gun." I opened my eyes. "There are too many of them!"

"You have a grenade, use it!" I hit the button on the side and a grenade flew out into the wide open where there were no alien robots. I've got mad skills to be able to use a bomb and _not_ kill anyone.

"Well, damn. I thought you'd think to _aim _it."

"I'm overwhelmed!"

"Fuck!" Inuyasha hit the reload button on the bottom of his handle with his knee and started shooting again, but the enemy was gaining on us. "Why won't these things _die?"_

"This game is cheating!"

We were both cracking up by the time the robots finally killed us (45 seconds later, totaling a two minute game that cost two dollars) from shouting at each other for doing stupid stuff. I kept shutting my eyes and forgetting to reload and Inuyasha shot people on our side twice. We are both great players.

"You lose," the game announced for us, displaying the words in large red letters on the screen.

"Thank you, captain obvious," I said as I placed my gun back where I found it. "I don't like shooting games anymore. What are we going to play next?"

"Guitar Hero," Inuyasha decided without any hesitation. "You chose the last game so it's my turn. Let's see how good you are on the guitar."

"Nope," I refused shaking my head. "There is no way I'm going to try to compete against the Guitar King in Guitar Hero. No way am I boosting your ego anymore."

"Don't be a spoiled sport."

"In case you have forgotten, my job is to _bash _your ego tonight and bring your head back down to size. Too much arrogance is a bad thing."

"It's my turn to pick so we have to play my game." Inuyasha smirked at the look of reluctance that fell over my face. "Scared of a little competition?"

"Only afraid of what it might do to the size of your head. You might not be able to make it back through the door later."

Inuyasha fed the game money and he got to pick the song (an easy one for my benefit) and he still absolutely killed me. He beat me by about a million points which had him grinning for a while.

"Back to playing twenty questions," I started as I put my guitar back on its hook. "Why exactly did you ask me out tonight? Did you just want your ego stroked or what?"

"I wanted to prove to you that I was planning to see you again to make, 'I'll see you later' a legit goodbye and I was bored." Well that just makes me feel really special. "_And," _he continued, "You need to relax. A lot. You were suffering from a work overload at school and I thought you could use a break."

"Thank you for reminding me," I groaned. "I have _so _much homework to do. I can't believe I actually just went out on a school night with all the—"

"Stop," Inuyasha cut me off, holding up his hand. "There will be none of that tonight. No work stress in this fun carefree zone."

"But—"

"That wasn't up for negotiation. It was an order."

"I don't follow many orders."

"Well you're going to tonight. We're going to play Star Wars now so just comply."

"To the battleship!" I shouted, completely forgetting that it was actually my turn to pick the game we played.

After playing Star Wars, a flight assimilator game, three different racing games, five rounds of skee ball (to win tickets), one game of laser tag, and three of those games of luck to win more tickets, it was finally my turn to pick again and I pointed to the motorcycles that rested to the left of the arcade. It was another racing game, but on a motorcycle which made it better.

I ran and hopped on my red motorcycle while Inuyasha strolled over slowly, taking his time inserting the coins. I leaned side to side, moving the motorcycle with me, as I waited for Inuyasha to hurry up and mount his ride. When he finally pressed start I hurried to pick my motorcycle (silver and green!) and then picked the course (desert).

"You do know that the desert is difficult, right?" Inuyasha asked as the screen switched to the beginning of the race, the countdown starting at three.

"Are you afraid of the challenge?"

"I was just making sure you knew you picked a hard course," Inuyasha shrugged, turning back to his screen. "I'm still going to crush you."

"Keep talking because it's going to be funny when you eat those words."

_Go!_

I took off as fast as possible, going up on my back wheel and zooming past three contestants. I leaned side to side with the motorcycle, doing a kick ass job at kicking ass considering I've never played this game before and I've never ridden a motorcycle. This must be a sign that I'm a natural and should get my own motorcycle to try riding it for real.

I was approaching a sharp right turn and as I leaned over to my far right, I realized something… I went a little too far and fell off the motorcycle, then landed on the ground, and completed the act by rolling twice and coming to a full and complete stop.

Maybe I shouldn't get a real motorcycle.

"Ha!" Inuyasha laughed. He was cracking up; laughing too hard to even ask if I was okay or to even help me up. A real gentleman would have offered me his help, not laughed. Or at least offered help _before _he started cracking up.

"You should have seen yourself!" Inuyasha gasped through his laughter. "You… you were there one second and then… and then the—the next second you're gone and your arms and legs were flailing around and—hahahhahahahaha!"

Inuyasha clearly isn't a gentleman.

"I'm fine, thank you," I said, picking myself off the ground. "Thanks for asking."

All Inuyasha could do was point and laugh, his face turning red. "You—you… you should have—hahahhahahaha! That was so fucking funny!"

"Glad to be your source of entertainment." I was trying not to blush, but trying not to blush is like trying to live without breathing; it just wasn't possible. "It couldn't have been that funny."

"It was, it was," Inuyasha insisted. He calmed down enough to sit himself up right on the motorcycle to give an example of what I did. "Oh look, I'm making a right turn and—ah!" Inuyasha fell off the side of his motorcycle, throwing his arms up and kicking his legs around as he fell to the ground.

"I did not fall like that!"

"Yes you did!" I walked over to where Inuyasha was lying on the floor, clutching his stomach from how hard he was laughing. "Baby, you must be a broom, 'cause you just swept me off my feet!"

I had to smile at that one.

"You're such an idiot."

Inuyasha finally stopped rolling around on the floor and caught his breath, looking up at me with bright eyes. "I'm hungry."

"Then I guess we should eat."

"Yeah." Inuyasha got up from the floor and pulled his wallet out of his back pocket and then handed it to me. "You can go order something for us at the food counter because I've got to use the bathroom."

"Alright. Do you want anything in particular?"

Inuyasha thought about it for a second before shaking his head. "Nah, not really. Just make sure it's something with meat." He pointed to himself. "I'm a meatatarian."

"I find that disgusting." Inuyasha shrugged his shoulders as if he didn't care about my opinion (and he probably didn't on that particular subject) and started in the direction of the bathrooms and I turned to the "food court" (it was too small to be a real food court) where there was a guy working the counter wearing a ridiculous hat with a hotdog standing up.

I opened Inuyasha's wallet to get some money when it occurred to me just how much you can learn about someone by having their wallet in your possession. I looked at his driver's license to see that he had braces when he was 16, his birthday was on the 8th of December, and that he was under 18 (surprise, surprise). I looked around at the other cards in there and found a _platinum _credit card (which means he's loaded), a gift card to some men's store I've never heard of, and there were ticket stubs from a concert. Oh! And his address was on his license as well. Now _I _can be the one with the surprise visits.

"Can I take your… Fuck."

I snapped my head up to correct the cashier about his improper language, but I stopped.

Oh. Shit.

I stared at Hojo's face as he stared back at me, his hat with the giant wiener on it seeming bigger than it did when I didn't know who the cashier was. He stared back at me with a look that was a mixture of horror, hate, and embarrassment.

Of course. It's just my rotten luck that I would run into Hojo _now_. I have been doing my best to stay the hell out of his way since the blow out in Mr. Vyke's class and until now I was succeeding. Then again, how the hell was I supposed to know Hojo was working at the arcade? I couldn't effectively avoid him if I wasn't expecting him to be around.

I suddenly wished Inuyasha hadn't gone to the bathroom so he could give me a reason to not to talk to Hojo, but Inuyasha has to empty his bladder and I was forced to face Hojo, the bastard.

"Nice hat," I said before I could think the sentence through carefully.

Hojo blushed and ripped the hat off his head, glaring at me. "Why the hell are you here? Are you stalking me?"

"I think the better question is: are _you _stalking _me? _You were the one in love and obsessed, not me." I was sounding like more of a bitch than I meant to, but what can I say? Hojo happened to bring out the ugly side of me. Most exes do. "But no, I'm not stalking you. I'm on a date."

"At the arcade?"

"Are you blind? Yes, at the arcade." I was standing right in front of him _in an arcade. _Idiot.

"Still getting it as easy as you can, I see," Hojo sneered and I was confused on what exactly he was talking about. "You're going with the friends-with-benefits guise again to satisfy that sex addiction. Is your next date going to be at the bowling alley?"

"Inuyasha picked the arcade," I defended myself. "I don't use the same trick twice."

"Maybe the trick's being used on you then," Hojo said, lifting his eyebrows. "It would be a great way to pay you back for all your whorish ways."

I licked my lips and bit back what I wanted to say (a long string of curses) and tried my best to smile at Hojo. This is how I deal with bad break ups: pretend they never happened. I didn't think at all that Inuyasha was trying to pull a friends-with-benefits routine with me, but it irked me that Hojo had even suggested it.

"So when did you start working here?" I asked, trying to steer the conversation away from me and my "whorish ways". "I thought you were working at WacDonalds."

"I got fired," Hojo spat. "Not that you actually care."

"I don't, but I thought I would at least try to be civil."

"Fuck off, Kagome."

"I need to order." Hojo glared at me. "I don't think your new boss would appreciate it if you tried pushing paying customers away."

Hojo took a deep breath and asked through clenched teeth, "What would you like to eat?"

"I'll have a cheeseburger with fries and…. Chicken tenders. With fries."

Hojo punched my order in. "To drink?"

"Inuyasha likes Coke." Hojo grimaced and punched in the drink order. "And I'll have Sprite mixed with—"

"Pink lemonade, I know." Hojo finished for me. He actually sounded miserable so I looked up at him and then it clicked; Hojo said he _loved _me and I dumped him and I was already on a date a week later.

Guilt, guilt, _go away!_

"Anything else?" Hojo asked, looking up at me with hard eyes.

"I'm sorry," I apologized. "About—"

"I don't need your pity," Hojo spat, causing me to flinch. "Just take your number and wait for your order to come to your table. And here are your drinks." Hojo shoved two filled cups and a number for my order in my direction. "Don't fuck him on the first date."

The guilt was beginning to subside.

I glared at him. "Have fun wearing that hat."

"I will," Hojo huffed, shoving the wiener hat back on his head. "It'll be better than having to look at you."

"I'm sure." I took the cups and my number off the counter and stomped away to the furthest corner away from the counter. Unfortunately, even though I was as far from Hojo as possible, he could still see me.

"What'd you get me?" Inuyasha asked as he slid into the seat across from me five minutes after I had claimed the table.

"A burger with fries." I saw him looking down at his drink. "It's a Coke."

"You seem to know me pretty well." Inuyasha smirked and took his straw in his mouth, taking greedy gulps of soda. "I've got another question."

"Shoot."

"Is that Hojo in a wiener hat?" Inuyasha asked, a grin pulling at the corner of his lips.

"Unfortunately," I laughed. "He got fired from WacDonalds and it looks the arcade needed someone to wear that hat." I thought of a question to ask Inuyasha. "Would you ever buy a motorcycle?"

"Yes," Inuyasha nodded without a second thought. "Why?"

"I've just always wanted to ride on a real motorcycle and I could hop on the back of yours if you went and bought one. It'll be one thing I can check off my things to do before I die list."

"Alright, if you had to punch Jesus, your grandma, or your mom in the face, _had to _or they'd all die, who would you punch?"

"That's such a horrible question!" I crossed my arms over my chest. "I refuse to answer that question."

"But the rules—"

"The rules can go to hell! I will not betray my mother, Jesus, or dance on my grandma's grave by agreeing to punch anybody in the face. Ask another question."

"Fine." Inuyasha thought for a second. "If you could have any—"

"Here's your food," A waitress interrupted Inuyasha, balancing a tray of food. "Chicken tenders for…" I lifted my hand, "the lady and a burger for the man." She picked up our number and smiled at us. "Enjoy your food and feel free to ask me if you need anything."

"Thank you," I smiled and Inuyasha dove into his burger. "You sure didn't waste any time."

"I was hungry," Inuyasha mumbled through a mouthful of food. He looked down at my plate and then back up at me, swallowing. "Aren't you going to eat?"

I glanced at Hojo who was glaring at us.

"I'm afraid they might have spit in it," I said, pushing my plate away. "Or poisoned it. Yeah, my appetite is gone. Sorry for wasting your money."

"I'll just eat it." Inuyasha pulled my plate over to him and I made a horrified face. "What? I'm not going to let some suspicions keep me from eating." Inuyasha took a large bite out of a chicken finger. "And if they did spit in it I'm not afraid of a little spit."

"Obviously." I reached for my soda/lemonade and took a sip of it as I watched Inuyasha devour his food. "You were about to ask another question."

"Right." Inuyasha took time to chew and swallow then reached for his Coke before finally asking the question. "If you could have one of your friend's traits which would it be and why. I, personally, would like Miroku's boldness."

I scrunched my nose up. "_Why? _He gets slapped for his boldness all the time."

"Because he never worries about being rejected so he never misses his opportunity to tell somebody how he feels because he's afraid they won't return those feelings." Inuyasha sat back in his seat, sipping his Coke. "It's a good trait to have."

"As long as you can control it," I scoffed.

"Alright, now it's your turn? Whose trait do you want?"

I leaned back in my seat and thought it over. Do I want Bank's great photography skills, Sango's strength, Erin's ability to live in the moment, Kouga or Inuyasha's never dying confidence, Ayame's energy? I looked over at Hojo and hated that he was looking back at me pitifully. I'm on a date with Inuyasha and he won't _leave me alone._

"Kikyo's ability to ignore all the bad things people say about her," I finally decided and Inuyasha's eyebrows shot up. "I know, it's shocking that I actually consider Kikyo a friend, but she does have her moments. All these people call her a bitch and a horrible person, but Kikyo just brushes them all off and basically tells them to shove it in her own Kikyo way. She just knows what she's doing and is confident and she doesn't let comments slow her down." I shrugged. "It would be nice to have that trait every once in a while."

Inuyasha stared at me for a long time and I looked down at the table, playing with the napkin that I didn't use. I wish I had just taken the easy root out and wished for Erin's ability to see through people's bull shit because _that _is a nice trait to have.

"Those guys are all—"

"So you want to play some games?" I cut Inuyasha off, snapping my head up and smiling as if the topic of me and boys didn't just come up again tonight. I didn't want to even be told that they were wrong and I was right; I wanted to banish the whole thing from existence. I've realized I deal with a lot of my problems by pretending they don't exist. "We should try getting more tickets so we can win good prizes."

Inuyasha was quiet again and I started pushing my seat back, making the decision that we were going to play games and not talk about this clear.

"I'm going to go to the bathroom while you finish eating," I said as I slid out of my seat. Inuyasha looked like he wanted to say something, but I didn't give him the chance and went to the bathroom to throw water on my face and get my act together.

-x-

Thankfully, Inuyasha decided to be a kind a person and play my game, pretending my slight freak out never happened and we went along playing games around the arcade.

My phone rang as Inuyasha tried shooting balls into the moving basket and I turned my back to him, fishing it out of my pocket. It might be Mom finally calling to yell at me for running out of the house without an explanation with a boy she's never met. And on a school night.

Thankfully, it was Kouga.

"What's up?"

"_I'm just calling you with the latest Erin—I was watching that! We're not going to watch…"_ Kouga's voice faded away (probably covering the mouth piece) and I waited for him to get back to the phone. _"…my house, I get the remote. So," _Kouga said, returning to our conversation, _"I have the Erin update."_

"Is she alright? Why'd she cancel practice?" I took a step away from Inuyasha at an attempt for a little more privacy. I didn't know if Inuyasha knew about Erin's family issues and I wasn't going to be the one to tell him.

"_Her mom was being a fucking bitch,"_ Kouga hissed. _"She locked her in the house and then... yeah."_

I bit my lip. "How bad is it?"

"_She'll be using Ayame's makeup to cover up the bruises tomorrow."_

"_You should see my fuckin' mother! She's not in the greatest shape either!"_ I heard Erin shout in the background and it finally clicked that Kouga was yelling at Erin earlier, not Ayame like I assumed.

"_She'll stay with me for the night and maybe tomorrow. Ayame comes over on Thursdays though and then she says she'll—"_

"I GOT JACKPOT!" A person screamed on my left, hopping up and down as a game spitted out tickets. "MOM! MOM! I GOT—"

"_Where are you?" _ Kouga asked as I moved away from the celebrating girl. _"I hear talk about a jackpot."_

"_Holy shit!" _I could hear Erin clearer than earlier and I figured she moved closer to Kouga. "_Are you at a casino, Kagome? That's _illegal. _Win us lots of money!"_

"I'm not at a casino," I sighed. "I'm at the arcade. Inuyasha picked me up and took me out for a much needed break."

"_He did, did he?" _Kouga started. _"Well, that's—"_

"_I'm so happy for you!" _Erin shouted, drowning out Kouga. "_Congratulations Kagome, really, but if you screw around with my guitarist, I'll—"_

"_Give me my phone back!" _ I heard Kouga shout in the background.

"_I'm on the _phone! _I'll have to punish you if you screw around with Inuyasha," _Erin threatened, returning her attention to me, but I could hear the scuffle occurring between the two. "_So tell me everything. How the hell did you end up going out with Inuyasha? I want to know every little detail and a full report on what happened."_

"I'm still in the middle of the d—it," I corrected myself, glancing over my shoulder at Inuyasha who had finished his game and was waiting for me, pretending to be impatient with his eyebrows raised. I still wasn't sure if I could classify this as a date. "It'll be kind of rude."

"_You've already been ignoring him to take this phone call, what's a few more—get _off _of me! Jeez, did you know that Kouga weighs as much as an elephant? And that he's sitting his fat ass on my—"_

"_Hey Kagome," _Kouga was back on the phone. _"Is Inuyasha still with you?"_

"Yes…" It was kind of a stupid question considering we did come here together.

"_Put him on the phone. I need to talk to him for a second."_

"Okay. Tell Erin I'll talk to her tomorrow at work." I handed my phone out to Inuyasha and he looked mildly surprised.

"That's not your mom, is it?"

"No, it's Kouga." I shook my phone in my hand and he finally took. "He needs to talk to you about something."

"Huh." Inuyasha looked down at the screen for a few seconds before finally lifting the phone to his "ear", his real right ear on top of his head tilting down to listen. "What?"

I was caught in between whether to eavesdrop or not. Inuyasha hadn't turned his back to me and he was actually looking at me while Kouga told him whatever it was he was telling him. And it was _my _phone he was using. And, you know, eavesdropping on others' conversations is a great way for a writer to develop dialogue…

I'll listen.

"No, I got this idea on my own… I would never take _your _advice, flea bag… I didn't!" Effective eavesdropping is hard when you're only receiving one end of the conversation. "It's going fine. Why the hell are you asking me about—… Fuck you! When did you lose your dick?"

I've decided I don't want to listen anymore. The way guys talk is just… I don't like it.

"Yeah… Okay, sure, whatever… _Yes, _I'm rushing you off the phone… Shut up! Bye, asshole." Inuyasha hung up and handed me back my phone.

"I really feel the love between you two," I said and Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "It's a great friendship."

"We work together, Kagome. I don't actually _like _Kouga."

"Uh-huh," I said, giving him a knowing look and Inuyasha just sucked his teeth, waving me off. Why is it so hard for guys to admit they care? "So I know what game I want to play next." I pointed to the DDR platforms in the middle of the arcade. "Let's test your dancing skills."

"I think I'm going to have to pass," Inuyasha mumbled, giving the dance platforms a wary look. "That shit gives me nightmares."

"It's my turn so we have to play the game I chose. That is the rule, right? And this is our last game so I'm not going to give up my game choice for your benefit."

"Yes, but really Kagome. I'm bad."

"The mighty Inuyasha can't be that bad." I started walking backwards towards the game, smirking at Inuyasha's look of dread. "Show me those fantastic hanyou moves."

Except, apparently, there are no such things as fantastic hanyou moves. Inuyasha really does _suck _at DDR. While I was jumping in time with the music, hitting all the correct arrows on the screen, Inuyasha was staring down at the platform and waiting for the squares to light up there before trying to stomp on them in time to get a point. He was always completely thrown off whenever there was a double. It looked like he was playing whack-a-mole with his feet and it was the funniest thing ever to watch. I almost peed in my pants from laughing at him so hard.

"This isn't funny," Inuyasha pouted when we finally ended the game, crossing his arms over his chest. "That game is _hard._"

"Attention viewers still tuning in for the Inuyasha Bashing segment: Inuyasha can't dance!" I started cracking up and Inuyasha just rolled his eyes. "How are you ever going to get a prom date this year?"

"With my amazing good looks, of course."

I rolled my eyes this time even though it was obviously true, as shallow as that sounds. "Let's go cash in out tickets."

Inuyasha and I moved over to the ticket counting machine and crouched on the floor, taking turns feeding the machine rows of tickets until we were all out.

"You've got two hundred tickets," the machine announced, "save for a bigger prize."

Finally! Something that resembles Chuck E. Cheese.

"We must be special people to get two hundred tickets on the dot," I said as I grabbed the receipt and we headed towards the prize counter. There was a different girl working there than the one that we saw earlier and that made me look at my watch to see just how long it's been. Crap. It was just nearing midnight.

My phone rang and I looked down to see _Mom _on the caller ID. To be bitched out now or later?

I turned my phone off and dropped it in my bag, deciding I'd take the lecture when I got home.

"What prize do you want to get with our astonishing two hundred tickets," Inuyasha asked me, looking at all the available prizes through the glass case. "I'm liking the giant bouncy ball."

"That's fifty tickets! And you're going to lose it within the first week you get it. That's the way bouncy balls work."

"Well _excuse me _for suggesting something. What is it that you want again?"

"I want the lava lamp," I admitted, looking up at the blue blobs moving in the lamp that sat on the shelves with the other prizes reserved for big ticket winners only. "But you suck at skee ball and we don't have a thousand tickets." I sighed as if it really hurt me that I couldn't get the lava lamp. "Let's get candy," I suggested, pointing to the baskets of Airheads and Dum Dums that sat in the 5 ticket section.

"With all the tickets?" Inuyasha asked with his eyebrows raised. "Seriously?"

"You can never go wrong with candy."

"Until you get a mouth full of cavities."

"So have you two decided yet?" The girl was getting impatient now and she looked annoyed that it was taking us so long to pick. I get that it's late and she probably has homework to do, but could she have some respect for the customers? Kids these days.

"We'll take twenty Airheads and twenty Dum Dums." Inuyasha told the girl and she reached into the bins behind her to get our candy. "I'd prefer watermelon Airheads."

"Cherry for me."

The girl dumped a handful of Dum Dums in front of us, glared, and then went back to pick through the Airheads for watermelon and cherry.

"So back to Twenty Questions," I started, turning to face Inuyasha, "what is your greatest accomplishment as a guitarist?"

"That's easy." Inuyasha picked through the Dum Dums until he found a mystery flavored lollipop and unwrapped it, putting it in his mouth. "Finally mastering Jaws of Life. Best day of my life."

"Is that supposed to be impressing?" I was a writer, not a music genius. I don't know what Jaws of Life sounds like at all.

"Are you kidding me?" Inuyasha looked at me wide-eyed in shock. "It's fucking amazing! Do you have any idea how hard it is to get through that song without messing up once? It's a huge deal for me!"

"I guess I'll just have to see you play it to actually know for myself," I shrugged. "Or I can just ask Erin."

"You can do both." Inuyasha made a funny face and pulled the Dum Dum out of his mouth. "It's chocolate flavored."

"Chocolate is good!"

"Not on a lollipop." Inuyasha put the Dum Dum back in his mouth though, twirling the stick between his fingers. "So what's your greatest accomplishment as a writer?"

"Currently nonexistent," I confessed. "Writing is not an easy industry to make a name in. But I do really like this story I am working on about this anorexic girl. It's very intense."

"Just how many stories are you working on because I think you've mentioned ten tonight."

"A lot," I told him. The girl was coming back with our Airheads and I began gathering the Dum Dums in my purse. Inuyasha stuffed his pockets full with the Airheads, separating the cherry and watermelon in different pockets. "Every time I get a new idea I start a new story."

"Do you ever actually finish those stories?" Inuyasha asked as he headed towards the door and I reached my hand in his right pocket, quickly grabbing an Airhead and grinning up at his surprised look.

"I finish the short ones, but the long, drawn out chapter stories take a while to finish. And if I don't finish the story I at least have the idea written down so I can return to the story years later if I really wanted to."

Inuyasha held the door open for me and I stepped through, heading towards his car. "It's hard to wrap my head around the fact that you read and write for _fun."_

"You sound like Souta," I grumbled and Inuyasha gave me a confused look. "He's my little brother."

"Oh."

"What about you?" I asked. "Do you have any siblings?"

"I was living with my older brother and his wife for a few months before I moved in with my dad." Inuyasha unlocked his car and I ran over to the passenger's side to hop in as Inuyasha slowly got into the driver's seat. "But then Rin got pregnant and their house wasn't big enough for the four of us. And it's not like Sesshoumaru and I really got along to begin with, but he was tolerable at times."

"He did let you live with him though."

"Because he knew Dad would be even worse than living with him and I'm pretty sure Rin put him up to it." Inuyasha put his car in drive and then drove out of the parking lot. "It's shocking Sesshoumaru even understands the concept of sympathy."

I was quiet for a second before finally asking, "Do you hate living with your dad?"

Inuyasha looked over at me and just stared at me for a few seconds. "It's my turn to ask the question," he said, but he said it in a way that told me I probably shouldn't ask that question when it was my turn again.

"What's your question then?"

Inuyasha thought for a second as he flew through a green light. "How much money would it take for you to kill a puppy with a sledgehammer?"

I looked at Inuyasha with wide eyes. "What the hell is your problem?"

"Do you have an answer or are you going to refuse to answer this question too?"

"Do you plan on killing a puppy?"

"No."

"Then why in the world would you ask such a morbid question?" Inuyasha shrugged and I shook my head. "I guess about… however much it takes to buy a sledgehammer. And maybe you'd have to pay a couple of people off to keep quiet about the whole ordeal because not many people are going to be happy about you killing a puppy. Especially with a frickin' sledgehammer."

Inuyasha laughed. "We have really weird conversations."

"All thanks to you. How will you know when you have lived a full life?"

"When I don't desire anything else in the world," Inuyasha answered after thinking it over for a second. "You?"

"When I can go to bed happy every night. But, to get specific, I would like to be married and have children before I can call my life a full one. And possibly have a book published. Or three."

"Stay at home mom?"

"No," I said immediately shaking my head. "I don't know how my mom does it because I would lose my mind if I was stuck in the house with me, Souta, and grandpa all day. Maybe I'll be a columnist for the newspaper on the side. I won't be a workaholic, but I'll want to get out of the house."

"I see," Inuyasha said, drumming his fingers against the steering wheel. "How much would it cost to kill a cat with a chainsaw?"

"I own a cat!"

We continued with our game of Twenty Questions (even though I'm sure we've asked about a hundred questions) all the way home until we reached my neighborhood and Inuyasha turned right onto my street.

"Last question of the night and it's all yours." Inuyasha glanced at me quickly before turning back to the road. "What do you want to know?"

_Is this a date or not? _It would really clear up a lot of confusion if I just opened my mouth and asked Inuyasha straight up, but the words just weren't coming out. Maybe Miroku's boldness really is a good trait to have.

"Um… if you had to listen to one song for the rest of your life, which would it be?"

Inuyasha thought carefully for what felt like forever before he finally shook his head. "I'll have to get back to you on that one. It's too hard to be asked to pick on the spot just like that. Can I ask why you want to know?"

"You can learn a lot about a person from their favorite song. My lifelong song is currently Rolling in the Deep by Adele."

"Wow. Got a lot about you from that song," Inuyasha said as he approached my house. "Certain person you're singing that to?"

That's definitely not the kind of information you reveal on the first date. Or ever.

"Not really," I lied as we pulled up to my house. "Looks like we're here."

"Home." Inuyasha stopped in front of my house and put Triple G in park. "Safe and sound."

"You say that now." I looked at my house and distinctively saw Mom's light still shining through her window. "It's half past midnight on a school night, I ran out of the house without an explanation, and I let all of Mom's calls go to voicemail. I'm just asking to be killed on the spot."

"I guess I didn't give her the best first impression," Inuyasha mumbled sheepishly as he scratched the back of his head. "Stealing her daughter away in the middle of the night and all."

"Don't worry about it," I waved off. "She hasn't seen your face so she won't know it's you who kept me out this late and I won't mention your name. I'll say it was Bankoutsu. She likes him too much to get mad at him."

"Bank seems to have a thing for older woman. First Mrs. Kido and now I'm finding out he worked some charm on your mom. Bank is going to be robbing the grave when he gets older."

"That's just the way he is," I shrugged. I reached over for the latch to open my door, but I couldn't find the want to actually open the door and step out of Inuyasha's car, bringing an end to our night. "Have you ever watched _The Office_?"

"I've seen a few of the British episodes." Inuyasha shrugged. "It's not really my cup of tea."

"What!" I was used to parents telling me _The Office_ was a just a stupid show that was too stupid to be funny, but _never _has another teenager told me that. "You've got to be out of your mind! Watch the American version then. That's my absolute favorite show and I won't be able to accept the fact that you don't like it."

"I would, but I don't have the DVD. Sorry," Inuyasha said, not looking at all sorry about it.

"I'll give you the DVD for season one," I declared, finally opening my door. "It's only six episodes so you can watch it tonight when you're not doing your homework. If you don't like any of those episodes than I'm afraid we can't be friends. _The Office_ is just too important to me."

"I don't think it's logical to base a friendship on whether or not I like a show."

"I'm going to get the DVD right now." I hopped out of his car and slammed the door shut while Inuyasha rolled down the window. "Don't move."

I ran up the steps to my house then and swung open the door, almost running into my mom who was waiting for me in the foyer.

"Kagome Higurashi." Oh shit. She used my full name. "Do you have any _idea_ how late it is? And on a school night!"

"Sorry Mom," I apologized as I breezed past her. "I have to give Bank something really quick."

"Bankoutsu doesn't drive a monster truck!" Mom yelled from the bottom of the steps as I ran down the hall into my room. Of course she decides to pay attention to the details now.

"I just have to give him something!" I threw the door to my room open and went over to my desk where every single Office season was neatly displayed in a row. I took the first disk and ran back out my room, zooming past Mom who had now made it to the hallway.

"It is past midnight, young lady!"

I ignored Mom, running back out the front door, smiling when I saw that Inuyasha was still waiting outside, his fingers drumming against his steering wheel in time with the music.

"Got it!" I shouted, slamming against the door to stop myself. I grinned at the way Inuyasha shot up in his seat a bit. I reached through the window, handing him the disc. "Here you go. It's really funny."

"Really now?"

"Really," I encouraged nodding. I looked back over my shoulder to see Mom standing in the doorway with her arms crossed and it was clear my night (or morning) was coming to an end. "So… I'm guessing you have to get home now."

"Yeah. I have to do my Calculus homework sometime. And I'm guessing your mom wants you back in the house," Inuyasha said, peeking around me to see Mom. He pulled his lips into a half smiled and gave a small wave in Mom's direction.

"I don't think she can see you in the dark."

"Oh, she saw me alright." Inuyasha turned to me and smirked. "I don't think your mom likes me very much."

"She knew it was bound to happen sooner or later. Every girl has to have her bad boy. You're in a band, you keep me out late on weeknights, and you drive a car that kills our ecosystem; you're as bad as they come."

Inuyasha laughed and sat back in his seat, shaking his head. He looked down at the DVD I had handed him, turning it back and forth in his hands. "Do I seriously have to watch this?"

"Yes!" I smiled at him. "It'll only take you three hours tops. Maybe only two and a half. I'm going to quiz you tomorrow morning too."

"That reminds me; It's your turn to bring breakfast."

"I already got it planned." Cinnamon Toast Crunch for breakfast! I just love that cereal.

"Just making sure." Inuyasha glanced over my shoulder at Mom again and he put his car into drive. "I really think I should get going now."

"Oh, Okay." I smiled at him and took a step back away from the window. I wanted to reach my hand through the window and hold his hand or climb back in and hug him. I _really _wanted him to just get out of the car and kiss me, at least on the cheek, but that was asking too much on a first date where we spent most of the time emphasizing the word _friends. _But, considering he was going to be kissing a whole bunch of girls starting next week, it would have been nice if I was the first girl he kissed at this school. "I'll see you tomorrow then."

"Bye Kagome."

Inuyasha drove slowly for a while, looking back at me through the window, before he finally put his foot on the pedal and drove away, leaving me alone by the side of the street.

Thinking it all over, it was a pretty good first date.

I turned back around and started back towards the house where Mom was looking a lot less than happy.

"Bankoutsu, huh?" she questioned, raising her brow as I walked past her, closing the door behind her. "I didn't know Bankoutsu dyed his hair silver and sprouted ears."

"I was just at the arcade, Mom," I assured her. "Inuyasha was trying to help me take a break from the work overload I've been given. We're just friends."

"Sure didn't look like it." Mom turned off the light in the foyer and we both headed up the stairs, side by side. "He was a very handsome though. I bet his ears are really soft."

"They are." Mom gave me a knowing smile and I rolled my eyes. "_Friends, _Mom. We are just friends."

I think.

-x-

"_Be my bad boy, be my man/ be my weekend lover/ but don't be my friend."_

_~Cascada "Bad Boy"_

_This song may not be my lifelong song, but it reflects my feelings at this exact moment in time._

**-0-0-0-0-0-**

**I found my mp3 player from two years ago and I was listening to it, taking a trip down memory lane, and Bad Boy by Cascada was on it so I just had to use the song in this story. And if you saw the latest Office episode with Will Ferrel: MOST AWKWARD HUG EVER! It just made me laugh so hard. And the Titanic scene: my absolute FAVORITE part of that movie. I'm in a great mood because it's fucking SPRING BREAK = 9 DAYS AWAY FROM SCHOOL! And I'm in Disney World. Life is good so I decided to updates so you should to decide to REVIEW!**

**I finished this chapter April 17 (Happy Birthday Fi!), but hanmajo momentarily gave up Inuyasha for Lent.**

**~Kimiko888~**

_**Happy birthday to me, on Friday I turned sixteen, I meant to give you all a birthday present (this story), but My Chemical Romance stopped me (that concert was THE shit, oh jeez, I loved it)! Apologies again for the long wait. I would love to have all the stories shoved in my inbox uploaded in one day, but I can't edit that fast and I've been cruelly busy lately. I will continue to be because my next black belt test is just around the corner :/ thanks for all your patience, guys! I will hopefully be finished editing I have a confession to make for next week!**_

_**Also, don't forget to wish Kimiko888 a happy birthday! She turns sixteen on… TODAY!  
**_

_**Happybirthdayauthorlady!**_

_**THE END. **_

_**~hanmajoerin**_


	11. Pests

**Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha**

**So, I'm back and I don't **_**think **_**it's been a long wait. Compared to how long it usually takes me to update a story, I mean. This is a fill-in chapter that turned out to be longer than I expected, but I personally like this chapter. It was pretty easy to write actually. Please enjoy!**

**Walking Tightropes**

**Chapter 11: Pests**

_Intervention (dictionary definition): interference in the affairs of another. _

_Intervention (my definition): an excuse for friends to lecture you and eat all your food. And honestly, they can be annoying, but I'm too nice to tell my friends that because I know they're just trying to look out for me. But still, they're annoying._

-x-

Even though I was supposed to take part of the "stuffing flyers for the Odd-Ball Olympics in everybody's locker" event, I overslept and I pulled into the school parking lot fifteen minutes before the bell was scheduled to ring. Fourteen minutes and thirty seconds before the bell was scheduled to ring I was being ambushed.

I had unlocked my doors so Inuyasha could slide in for breakfast as usual, but a second later the passenger and back door were being thrown open and Sango and Ayame both slid into my car.

"This," Sango said as Ayame reached up from the backseat to lock my doors again, "is an intervention."

"An intervention?" I wrinkled my nose. "For _what?"_

"Well, it's not really an intervention," Ayame clarified, leaning over the armrest. "It's more like a talk. We need to have a talk."

"But, it's an eye opening talk, so that makes it an intervention."

"There's Cinnamon Toast Crunch back here!" Ayame announced, having found the breakfast I stored in the backseat. "And milk, bowls, and spoons."

"How many spoons?" Sango asked. Apparently my "intervention" wasn't as important anymore.

"There's a whole box of plastic spoons and two actual bowls."

"Perfect! Kagome can have a bowl of cereal and you and I can share one." Ayame was already pouring cereal into the bowls. "Kagome, you are a genius. I had to skip breakfast in order to make sure I got here early enough for the ambush and I am _starving._"

"That was actually supposed to be for Inuyasha…"

"Which brings us back to the reason we're here." Ayame passed a bowl to me then propped herself on the armrest between the front seats, leaning back against Sango's chair so she could face me. "You were on a date with Inuyasha last night and before you two get all boyfriend-girlfriend we think you should think a couple things through."

"How did you know—"

"I called Kouga last night and he told me Erin was over so I talked to her for a while and she told me that you were on a date with Inuyasha."

I _told _Erin it wasn't a date.

"And then Ayame called me and I decided we needed to have a meeting." Sango took the spoon Ayame handed her and scooped up a spoonful of cereal. "For one thing, you need a crash course in communication because it shouldn't have taken us two hours after Kouga called you to figure out you were on a date."

"Right," Ayame agreed, sticking the spoon in her mouth. "You should have told us you were going out the second he asked you. That's what best friends _do._"

"He caught me by surprise," I defended myself, starting to eat my breakfast. "He just emailed me we were going out and I didn't check my mail until seconds before he rang my doorbell."

"How sweet," Sango cooed.

"We're _not_ dating," I made sure to put an emphasis on the "not". I knew they're already thinking along the lines of "Kagome and InuYasha are dating", so I want them to know that we're not. "And aren't you supposed to be putting up flyers for the Odd-Ball Olympics?"

"Since you didn't show, the rest of us decided that it wasn't necessary for us to shove flyers in lockers." I gaped at her. "Don't worry, we made all the freshmen and sophomores do it."

"Was Kikyo behind this plan?"

"You should be glad she's not searching for you because she wants to wring your neck for making such a big deal out of the flyers and then not showing up. You've been labeled as a hypocrite for the rest of the day."

"Joy."

"I don't know if you two realized this, but we're off topic," Ayame mumbled through a mouthful of food. I was highly aware of the fact that we were getting off topic; it was part of my plan. "We had something to talk to Kagome about, _remember?"_

"Right. So, you and Inuyasha." Sango gave me a serious look. "If you break-up, it's going to be bad; worse than any other break-up because Inuyasha is our friend and—"

"And when there's a break-up in a group of friends everything is awkward between everyone," Ayame finished for Sango. "Either people take sides and the friends split or everyone doesn't know how to act around the two who broke up and nothing will ever be the same again!"

"That seems a bit melodramatic…" I didn't see the point in pointing out that I'd have to date Inuyasha before we could break-up since it seems that such "tiny" details don't matter. "You and Kouga break-up all the time, but nothing really changes."

"That's because we only temporarily break-up and we'll get back together eventually so the world isn't off kilter for too long."

"Uh-huh."

"We're just saying you need to carefully think over all the outcomes that getting in a relationship with Inuyasha can lead too," Sango put in simpler terms. "Inuyasha will be the first guy you date within our group of friends and if you guys break-up under false pretenses—"

"False pretenses?"

"You know, all those lies you make up to get out of a relationship when you realize the guy doesn't compare to Dai or when he confesses his love to you," Ayame explained. "If you break-up with Inuyasha using one of those bad excuses and he finds out the truth—"

"That you're in love with Dai and he was just used as a replacement."

"—shit is going to hit the fan," Ayame finished. "I mean, think about it, one of your friends may hate you which would cause a total rift within our group. Unlike when you broke all those other guys' hearts, you'll have to see Inuyasha every day and talk to him and the guilt will eventually eat you alive!"

"Alright Ayame," I said, holding my hand up. "Calm down."

"What she's trying to say is that you can't run away from Inuyasha if you two break up." Sango's eyes widened. "Holy crap, Inuyasha will be the first ex-boyfriend you'll actually have to face."

"Would you two _stop it already?_" I asked in a rougher tone. I love these two, but they weren't doing something that I tend to appreciate: listening. Sango and Ayame finally turned their attention to me. "For one, I'm not dating Inuyasha and if I did date him there's no guarantee that we'll break up. And two," I pointed my spoon at both of them, flicking milk onto my dashboard,"I don't… _run away _from my exes. God, first Erin and now you two."

"Oh, you don't run away?" Sango gave me a knowing look before turning to Ayame. "Shall we remind her of the Akira break-up?"

Oh God.

"Kagome," Ayame said, falling into the role of Akira as she placed her hand on Sango's shoulder. "I think… um, I think I love you."

Sango stared at Ayame blankly for a second before her eyes brightened and her smile grew really big. "Oh my God, I really like you too, Akira!" Sango said, clapping Ayame on her back. "But, I don't think this relationship is going to work for me anymore. Wow. So, I'll see you in math. Bye!" Sango turned to me. "And end scene. We never did see poor Akira again after that."

"You two should be ashamed for memorizing every detail of that break-up," I mumbled. "And he's in our Calculus class."

"You should be ashamed for breaking up with a guy like that," Ayame countered. "You're a cruel, cruel woman Kagome. Ah, the humiliation of Akira. I _felt _his heart breaking."

"Yeah, he hates you now."

"Thanks for the pleasant reminder," I said, rolling my eyes. "Is there a point to this though? I get that I made some really… _really _bad mistakes in the past, but I've _learned _from them. Things will be different with Inuyasha. The Inuyasha that _I'm not dating."_

It had to be rehearsed or God really just loved supplying me with ironic scenes because at that exact moment Inuyasha's face appeared in Sango window. He looked a bit disappointed and I wondered if he could hear me through the window. Sango looked to see what I was staring at in the window and she turned to see Inuyasha looking at her and Ayame with confusion.

"Give me the sign, Ayame," Sango ordered, and Ayame leaned back to grab her backpack to pull something out.

_I'm hungry,_ Inuyasha mouthed to me through the window, rubbing his stomach. Before I could answer him Ayame had handed Sango a piece of paper and Sango slapped it over the spot where Inuyasha's face was.

"What does that say?" I asked Ayame.

"Meeting in session."

I rolled my eyes and rolled down Sango's window so I could talk to Inuyasha. I was getting tired of my "intervention" anyways.

"That means get lost," Sango said to Inuyasha when the window was completely down.

"Kagome and I have this thing where we have breakfast every morning and it was her turn to bring the food so I haven't had breakfast yet, and that means I'm hungry" Inuyasha explained to Sango. Then he looked down and saw the bowl of cereal in Sango's hand. "Is that my breakfast?"

"I was hungry?"

"They ambushed me," I told him. "I'm sorry they stole your breakfast."

"You can have the cereal box," Ayame offered, passing Inuyasha the box of Cinnamon Toast Crunch. "Dry cereal is good, too."

"I think he wanted some _alone time _with Kagome actually," Miroku said, appearing in the window next to Inuyasha as Inuyasha took the cereal box. "Hello my dearest Sango."

There was a thud coming from the front of my car and I turned my head again to see Bank splayed out on my hood with his face pressed up against my windshield. "_Feeeeed Meeee," _he droned.

"What the hell are you all doing here?" Sango asked. She held up her sign so all the guys could see. "Meeting in _session."_

"It means get lost," Inuyasha told Miroku and Bank and Ayame snorted.

"So you know the bell is going to ring in five minutes, right?" Bank asked, scooting off my hood and moving to stand next to Inuyasha and Miroku. "You and I," he said pointing to me, "need to work out picture stuff for the Odd-Ball Olympics. The yearbook staff wants to know who's participating in each of the events so they can start getting names together for the descriptions ahead of time."

"Right… We're still actually in the discussion process for that," I mumbled. The Olympics were next week and The Shikon Times was still completely out of order and nothing was set in stone. "I'll get back to you."

"That reminds me," Inuyasha said, digging into my box of cereal (well, I guess it's his now). "I got the games for the carnival ready and the company wants to know where to bring them next week."

"That's also still undecided..."

"Really, Kagome?" Miroku asked. "You suck at planning events."

"Shut up." I finished off my bowl of cereal and drank the milk before grabbing my book bag and getting out of my car. Sango and Ayame finished their bowl and hopped out the car too. Once we were all standing outside, I locked the doors. "I don't see you planning any events."

"Because I know I'm incapable of taking on such a huge responsibility." Miroku draped his arm around Sango's shoulder and started leading us towards the building.

"I think Kikyo may have mentioned something about finding a spot for the carnival," Sango said over her shoulder. "And this talk isn't over."

"I thought it was an intervention."

"An intervention?" Inuyasha shot me an amused smile of some sort. "Are you a drug addict or something?"

"She's a _sex _addict," Bank corrected him and I wacked him over the head. "Ow!"

"Don't be an asshole," I growled. "That's the reason you can't get a girlfriend." Everyone at school was finally starting to forget about my so called "sex addiction" (the quarterback was caught drunk driving over the weekend and got in an accident where the victim is in critical condition, so the rumor about me was finally topped) and now here's Bank trying to bring it back up again. In front of Inuyasha. I was just _this _close to killing him.

We walked into school and I could still see a few of the underclassmen from the newspaper staff shoving the last of the flyers into lockers before the bell rang. I noticed Hitomi struggling to jam a flyer into one locker, getting frustrated and slapping it with her hand then going back and kicking the locker… leaving a dent. I'm starting to feel guilty about the work we make the younger members of the staff do.

"…all over me," Bank was saying when I tuned back in and Miroku was laughing while Inuyasha shook his head. "I could have a girlfriend, but I chose _not _to. I enjoy being a free man. So, no Kagome, it's not that I can't get a girlfriend, but I chose to devote myself to my photography and schoolwork instead of a girlfriend."

"Aren't you failing math?"

"Alright, I devote myself to my photography." The bell rang over our heads as we laughed. "Shit, I've got to get to my locker. I'll see you guys at lunch!"

Bank took off down the hall and Miroku kissed Sango before heading towards his Honors Discreet Math class, clapping Inuyasha on the back as he passed. Inuyasha said he had to stop by his locker and that left me alone with Ayame and Sango… again.

"Did you see that?" Ayame asked me. "Did you _feel _the bond of friendship between all of us? If you break up with Inuyasha that could be ruined."

"We're not saying we don't want you to date Inuyasha," Sango clarified.

"Because we really do," Ayame insisted. "Really, you guys would make a perfect couple."

"But just make sure you _really _care about Inuyasha before you decide to date him." Sango gave me another serious look. "And it's not just because we don't want our friendship to be messed up, I don't want either of you to get hurt. Okay?"

I could tell Sango was being sincere and she really wanted the best for me (it was kind of obvious, considering we've been best friends for eight years). Besides, who knew how I would react if I did actually have to see one of my exes every day? It actually could be disastrous.

"I'll think long and hard before I decide whether or not to date Inuyasha," I told them. "I promise."

-x-

_Naomi stood in the pouring rain, wiping furiously at her eyes as she watched Sam approach her slowly through the curtain of rain, his feet making sloshing noises in the mud. Why didn't she just run to her car and drive away to deal with this confrontation later, possibly never? Why did she stand there waiting for him to break her heart?_

"_You," Sam grunted as he reached Naomi, his bangs beginning to block his vision, "are a pain in the ass."_

"_I can say the same to you."_

"_Except I didn't go run off with my high school sweetheart, get pregnant, and then come back here just to confuse the hell out of some other poor guy in order to feel safe and loved! You just fucked around with my heart and then—" Sam sucked in a breath, stopping himself. "This is coming out wrong."_

"_No say it," Naomi urged, but Sam kept his lips shut as he stared at the ground. "Damnit Sam, say it! Tell me you hate me! Tell me I'm a bitch! Stop holding it in and _say it!"

"_I hate you!" Sam shouted in Naomi's face. "I hate that you're so fucking fickle with your relationships, but every time I close my eyes your face is there! And every time I think about moving ten _billion _miles away from this place I get that pathetic thought that you might come back to me and I can't leave! And I fucking _hate _that you make me look like a pathetic fool, waiting for the girl who ran away!" Sam took in a deep breath and looked down that the drenched girl who held his heart. "Are you happy now?"_

"_Do… do you really mean that?"_

"_Christ!" Sam shouted, shoving a hand through his hair. "Damnit Naomi, don't play stupid. If I didn't mean it, I wouldn't say all that shit!"_

"_I'll stop," Naomi mumbled looking up into Sam's murky green eyes through the pouring rain. "I'll stop running away from you. I'll stop—"_

_Sam was quickly growing sick and tired of all their talking. He's a man of little words and he emotes himself through his actions. He grabbed Naomi around the waist and pulled her to him so that every inch of their bodies were touching, his wet lips crashing down onto hers and his hand moving up to tangle in her hair. His tongue probed her mouth open and—_

"I see someone's feeling horny."

I yelped and slammed my book shut in surprise, looking up to see Kikyo sitting on the desk in front of me with a giant smirk on her face. Sango was sitting next to her, straddling the back of a chair cracking up, and a blush began to creep on to my face.

"Reading an adult fiction book doesn't mean I'm horny," I defended myself, tossing my book to the ground in hopes that it would somehow just disappear. "It's called broadening my horizons, _Kikyo."_

"I might have been able to buy that if you weren't reading _Deadly Temptation,_" Kikyo pointed out. "And if the people on the front weren't only two bases away from a homerun. Honestly Kagome, that's not the kind of reading material you should be carrying around at school."

I usually don't stray far from my young adult fiction, but I was in the grocery store with Mom this weekend and the need to buy a book just hit me full force. Unfortunately, the grocery store only sells adult romances in their book aisle (which I would usually avoid because they're cheesy and melodramatic) and I just had to settle with them. It turns out that _Deadly Temptation _is basically a soap opera on paper and addicting in a hotly romantic way. I've read three steamy scenes so far and considering the way the Sam and Naomi confrontation I was about to hit my fourth, but then Kikyo decided to throw in her two cents and shake me from my reader's trance.

"You've been reading under your desk all day," Sango commented, sliding the book over to her with her foot before I could stop her. "Just what is so interesting about this book?"

"Don't—" I tried to lunge for the book when she picked it off the floor, but Sango leaned back in her chair and moved the book out of my reach. "Sango, please don't read that."

"Read it, Sango," Kikyo ordered and Sango grinned, flipping to a random page, I hid my face with my hands. It's one thing to read _Deadly Temptation, _it's another thing completely to have your friends pry the book open and publically embarrass you because of it.

The whole point of a guilty pleasure is to feel _guilty_ about it, that's why you _don't _want anyone to find out. Do I want my best friend to know I've read graphic sex scenes in this book? Not really. And it's not like I _enjoyed _reading the scenes, but… it's just something I'd rather not have people know. I watched as Sango's eyes widened at some of the stuff she read and her mouth fell open. I am _never _buying adult fiction again.

"Well, now I know why Naomi left Sam for Jack," Sango said after a few minutes of skimming, sliding the book back to me and I shoved it in my book bag, swearing to never take it out again. Sango turned to Kikyo. "Jack was _much _better at finding her g-spot."

"Sango!"

"It's just what I read."

"You know," Kikyo started, "if you just started dating Inuyasha you wouldn't have to read books to get—"

"Okay!" I shouted, cutting Kikyo's sentence off. I did not like how quickly downhill this conversation was going. "New topic."

"Has Inuyasha still not asked you out on another date?" Sango asked, leaning in close. "It's been _fifteen hours _since your last date ended."

"I said a _new _topic."

"This is a new topic. Earlier we were talking about the fact that you were horny and that you were reading that book to—"

"I'm not h—" I stopped myself when I realized just how many members of the staff had made it into the newsroom. "I am honestly having trouble figuring out why I'm friends with you two."

"Because you love me."

"I don't ever remember agreeing to the two of us being friends."

"You'll feel better when you admit that we are." Kikyo just rolled her eyes and I smiled. "So, I heard you have some leads on the location for the carnival?"

"I do." Kikyo's eyes narrowed. "But first, where the _hell _were you this morning?" Only then did I remember Sango telling me that Kikyo wanted to strangle me. "You've got some nerve telling me it was so important to be here this morning and _not__ showing up!_"

"I overslept," I mumbled, shrinking in my seat. "And it's not like you had to put the flyers up."

"I still had to get up early!" Kikyo did not look happy. "I swear Higurashi, I am going to—"

"So, we were talking about the location for the carnival?" Sango cut in, saving me from being decimated. "Where'd you book the carnival?"

"I didn't book it, I just found somebody willing to lend their property to a bunch a teenagers that will leave the place covered in trash."

"Damn. I have to assign people to the clean-up crew," I mumbled to myself. I would have just made all underclassmen do it, but after seeing Hitomi this morning, I was starting to fear that the other youngsters would start to hate us. "So, where is it?'

"Suzuya Park."

"Suzuya Park?" I frowned. "But that's such a long drive!"

"That's the only place I found willing to let us hold a carnival," Kikyo snapped. "It's not like you were doing any looking around for a place. You were too busy on your _date._"

Sometimes you just know when it's best to cut your losses and just agree with Kikyo. Agreeing with Kikyo usually leads to a happy ending.

"Alright, I'll get the money for the place from Mrs. Kido and I'll drive down to the park tomorrow. Thanks Kikyo."

"Yeah, whatever," Kikyo waved off. Typical manners just weren't good enough for her. "Oh, and I have my article." Kikyo tossed her typed article on my desk. "It's tips for what do on a first date. It's for boys and girls."

"You do know you're actually supposed to respond to the letters people write to you asking for advice, right?'

"Yeah, but all their letters were boring this week so I wrote some other kind of advice. Tell them to try again next time."

"You're impossible," I sighed, placing her article on top of the stack I had picked up from my basket when I walked in. "Do you have your column, Sango?"

"Yep." Sango dug in her bag and pulled out a folder before handing me her column. "An exclusive on Ren's drunk driving incident."

"How the hell did you manage that?" Kikyo asked. "That kid's suspended and on house arrest and his parents aren't letting anyone in their house."

"I never reveal my sources."

"Alright guys," Mrs. Kido walked to the front of the class and all talking died down, "let's go ahead and get started. As you know, today was your deadline so make sure you turn in your pieces to Kagome before we leave today. Today we're going to work on getting last minute details for the Odd-Ball Olympics and the carnival figured out and make some posters to put up around the school." Mrs. Kido looked around to make sure nobody had any questions. "Do we have a place for the carnival yet, Kagome?'

"Yes we do. Kikyo said that Suzuya Park is willing to let us hold it there so I'll stop by there tomorrow after school."

"Good, good. And do we have the food and games together?"

"My dad will provide the food," Kikyo confirmed.

"And Inuyasha said he already got the company for the games, and I've already got a band that will play."

"Great." Mrs. Kido seemed relieved to learn that things are running smoothly. "So let's just focus on next week."

We spent the rest of the meeting confirming who was participating in which events, who was in charge of bringing supplies for that day, and who was working the betting booth on each of the days. Aki was assigned to be the permanent announcer so he managed to get out of participating in any event, but the rest of us each had to partake in two (I was doing the pool event and leap frog). Then we just made posters to post around school early the next morning.

While other people were working on posters, I took the time to look over a few pieces so I wouldn't have to do too many tonight. I actually paused for a second, reading over one aspect of Kikyo's advice.

_And do not, under any circumstance, mention the two of you being _friends _on the date. You may just be saying it to save yourself from possible rejection if the person doesn't return your feelings, but you cause the other person to second guess themselves. If the person asked you out on a date, they obviously want to be more than just friends. _

Crap.

-x-

"Alright missy," Erin began, charging right into a conversation I just knew I wouldn't like as she approached the counter with determination in her eyes. "Spill. Tell me everything, start to finish."

"Nice to see you too, Erin," I greeted as I smiled at an approaching customer. "I hope you see that I'm at work and I have a customer and it is not polite to carry on a personal conversation when I should be giving the customer my full attention." I smiled again at the woman who approached my register. "Good afternoon ma'am. I hope you didn't have any trouble while shopping."

Erin's stare was basically burning holes in the side of my head. "Did T.J insert some kind of chip in you to control your speech or are you just trying to annoy me by not telling me what happened last night?"

"Is it really a crime to want to keep some things to myself?" I scanned the woman's shoes and rung up her total and she handed me a card. "Debit or credit?"

"Debit."

"It's a crime when you call me _during _the date and then try to avoid all questioning." Erin sat on top of the counter so she could match my eye level. She didn't seem to care about the wide-eyed look the customer was giving her at all.

"I didn't call you during the date. Kouga called me to tell me about you and you took the phone from Kouga."

"Details, details," Erin waved off.

"And did you really have to tell Ayame that I was on a date _when it wasn't a date?" _Erin rolled her eyes. "Seriously Erin, they ambushed me this morning and gave me this long talk about how I shouldn't rush into anything with Inuyasha because it can be really bad if we break up since he's managed to infiltrate my group of friends."

"Infiltrate?" Erin raised her eyebrows. "That kind of has a negative connotation to it."

"You know what I mean. They replayed the Akira break-up for me."

"_Who?"_

"A—" I stopped myself when I remembered Erin numbered my exes. "He was Failure… nine."

"Oh, that guy." Erin's eyes widened. "_Oh. _Yeah. That was not a good way to break a guy's heart. And in the middle of the hallway, too."

"Yes, I know; big mistake."

"As long as you learn from your mistakes." Erin slid off the counter and pulled out the trivia cards, sliding half the deck over to me. "So, the date?"

"It was fun, but it turned out Hojo worked at the arcade and he—"

The chime over the door rang and when I looked over to see Hojo. Thanks for another ironic moment God, really.

"Shit!" I dropped my half of the trivia cards and ducked under the counter, out of view.

"What the—really, Kagome?" Erin asked and I assumed she saw Hojo wandering around the store. "_Really?_" she looked down at me and shook her head. "And you say you don't avoid your exes."

"I usually don't! But every time I see Hojo things always get ugly and it is not good employee behavior to start a screaming match with a customer."

"We've already gone over the fact that T.J secretly loves us too much to fire us. We're horrible employees, honestly, but we still have our jobs."

"We've never bitched a customer out before."

"There's a first for everything."

My entire face fell as I stared at Erin seriously. "Not for this." I got up on my knees and peeked over the counter to where Hojo was browsing the section for sneakers. "Damnit, why won't he leave?"

"He obviously wants to see you," Erin pointed out. "He probably wants to get back at you for showing up to his job and torturing him with your presence… with another guy. I actually think this behavior is a bit overdue."

"Thanks," I grumbled as I sat down on the floor with my back against the counter. "Now he's just going to stalk me forever."

"Not forever," Erin assured me, "but you hiding is giving him the satisfaction of knowing he gets to you. You can't let the enemy win like that!"

I looked up at Erin, not all that convinced. "I actually don't want to have to interact with him though. You see, I've discovered this thing recently: guilt."

"Just because you feel guilty doesn't mean you should hide your face." Erin yanked on my arm and even though she's such a short person, she had no problems pulling me up. "You can't be ashamed because you told him you don't love him."

"I can for shoving the fact that I was on a date a week later in his face."

"Alright, we're just going to take this one problem at a time, Kagome. One problem at a time. You have too many issues for me to fix in one day."

At that moment Hojo glanced up from the shoes he was surveying and spotted me. He dug something out of his pocket and started heading our way and I felt like running. The look on his face—smug and cruel—made it obvious that interacting with him would not be pleasant.

"I'm going to be sick."

"Get some confidence!" Erin ordered as she smacked me in the back, effectively causing me to straighten up. "You weren't this bad when failure number 12 was being an ass."

"Because Ryuuji was in the obvious wrong," I pointed out as I watched Hojo's approaching form with dread. "There's a lot of gray when it comes to me and Hojo."

"No, there's a lot of assholery on his part and a little bitchiness on yours."

"Gee, thanks."

"It's normal break-up standards," Erin informed me. Hojo was only five feet away by now. "You just have to make it clear that you don't regret breaking up with him. By hiding, you make yourself look guilty."

Probably because I feel kind of guilty.

"Hi," Hojo greeted with a smile that I hadn't seen since we broke up. I didn't really miss it. "How are you this afternoon?"

"Cut the crap," Erin bluntly stated and I jabbed her with my elbow, a sign which she ignored. "I know all about you."

"I read online that we can offer trivia questions for the store to use and I came up with this really good one," Hojo continued, ignoring Erin. He set the piece of paper he had pulled out of his pocket earlier on the counter and slid it to me. He looked up at me and smiled, his eyes twinkling. "I think you'll really appreciate it, Kagome."

Common sense told me not to look at it, but everyone is entitled to their moments of stupidity. I slid the card closer to me and slowly turned it over to read it.

_Who is the biggest slut at Shikon High? _

My face fell and I looked up at Hojo, whose grin could give the Cheshire cat a good run for his money. "The answer is you."

I ripped the card to pieces moments before Erin had a chance to lean her head over and read what it said. I quickly threw the pieces in the trash. "You need to leave," I told him. _"Now."_

"I don't think your boss will appreciate you trying to push paying customers away," Hojo stated proudly with a smug grin, hitting me with my own words. "I saw some really nice sneakers back there, actually. I think I'm going to look around for a bit longer."

I watched as Hojo sauntered back towards the sneaker section with new swagger. Okay, that guilt feeling? Yeah, it's long gone now. It's been filled with the desire to gouge his eyes out.

"What was the question?" Erin asked, her voice surprisingly soft.

"It was nothing," I insisted, flipping through the trivia cards I had abandoned earlier. "I just wish Hojo would disappear. Really."

Erin stared at me for a few seconds longer than usual before she made something up in her mind.

"You know, Hojo is nothing but a smelly, rotten pest."

"Too bad I can't squash him like one..."

"But you can."

"Erin." I gave her a warning look and placed my hand on her shoulder. "I like being able to work with you. Don't get fired."

"Honestly Kagome, Hojo is nothing but a fly. He's constantly buzzing around when all you want him to do is just go away. I'll show you how to get rid of a fly." Erin picked up a shoe from one o the return boxes and chucked it at the back of Hojo's head. My jaw went slack as I gaped at her before finding my brain and ducking under the counter before Hojo could see me. "Hey you," Erin started demanding, pointing her thumb at the door "get out."

"_Erin A. Chiba!_"

"Damnit!" Erin cursed. "Now T.J is going to eat my head off!" She looked down at me while shaking her head. "The things I do for you."

I'm beginning to think that now is a good time to reevaluate the people I become friends with.

"What the hell do you think you're doing!" T.J hissed when he reached the counter and I tried to shrink myself into the smallest ball possible. I didn't exactly want to be discovered at this moment.

"That guy was stalking Kagome and it should be one of our top priorities to protect our employees," Erin answered. "Right?"

"Erin…" T.J ground out through clenched teeth. "You do not have the authority to throw shoes at customers."

"Well, it wasn't clearly stated that I couldn't. And it's not like you were doing anything to keep the crazy stalker from creeping on Kagome."

"You—"

"And if I called the police it would bring too much unwanted attention to the store and I don't think you really want that. T.J, I was doing what's best for _everyone_."

"You…" I could see T.J pointing his finger at Erin from my hidden spot. As usual, he was outsmarted by a teenage girl and once again, at a loss for words. "You…" T.J sighed. "Where is Kagome?"

"She's—" I hit Erin's leg to let her know that I didn't want him to know I was hiding under the counter. "She's in the bathroom… giving birth to her secret baby, so it would be very unwise for you to go in there at the current moment. I mean, unless you want to be mentally scarred for life by seeing someone go through labor, I—"

"Erin!" I shouted, blowing my own cover. I cursed to myself and then picked myself off the ground. "You normally tend to not suck at cover stories. Just saying I was in the bathroom would have been fine."

"I got no sleep last night, I basically got the tar kicked out of me for no good reason, and I'm pretty fucking crabby right now; you're going to get some shitty excuses."

I sighed and ran a hand through my hair before turning to face a fuming T.J. "Hey T.J."

"Was that boy stalking you?"

It shocks me how willingly T.J believes some of the things that come out of Erin's mouth.

"Of course he was!" the little truth stretcher answered for me. "He gave her a suspicious note that she ripped up because it freaked her out so much! He wanted her to meet her behind the store." Erin gave T.J a knowing look. "You should just kick that guy out on his ass."

"Excuse me." We turned to see Hojo standing behind T.J, his face red with anger. "But one of your employees _just threw a shoe at me!_"

"It slipped," Erin shrugged. She lifted her tiny hands and wiggled her fingers. "Butter fingers; I can't hold a damn thing. Everyone hated having me on their team when we played flag football in gym."

"Do you really believe this bitch?" Hojo hissed, pointing a finger at Erin and I was beginning to see the side of Hojo I had become familiar with lately—the asshole side. "She said Kagome was having a baby in the bathroom."

"Just how long have you've been listening to our conversation, Mr. Stalker?" Erin asked, raising a brow.

"I'm not a fucking stalker!"

"Eavesdropping is a very common trait of stalkers." Erin turned to T.J again. "All fingers are pointing in his direction."

"Is this how you conduct your business?" Hojo snapped, now turning his direction T.J now and I felt bad for my manager. He was stuck in the middle of an argument between Erin and Hojo; that's one of the worst things a person can go through in life. "You let your employees talk to customers this way and throw shit at them?"

"Some customers deserve to have shit thrown at them," Erin mumbled and Hojo glared at her. "What? You _are _harassing Kagome."

"I'm not doing anything to harass Kagome," Hojo sneered.

"Kagome?" I looked at T.J when he called my name and he gave me a serious look. "Was this guy harassing you in any way?"

"Of course—"

"I'm asking Kagome," T.J cut Erin off with a firm tone and she backed off. "Kagome?"

I'm at a fork in the road. If I admitted to Hojo being the jealous ex, showing up to my job to annoy the hell out of me, and make me feel like dirt, then Hojo would only get more pissed off and the situation would only worsen. On the other hand, if I let Hojo get away with this, Erin would chew me out for letting Hojo win and crumbling to his will. It's actually a hard decision to make.

"He's…" I looked around at all three of their faces, trying to figure out which route would be the best. "He—"

"Tell him what the notecard said," Erin demanded, still glaring at Hojo. "What did this bastard write you?"

"He's just an ex," I told T.J, avoiding the subject of the "trivia" question.

"Just an ex," Hojo scoffed, glaring at me. "Is that all I am?"

"You're a real asshole too," Erin snapped.

"Well Kagome's a fucking whore!" Hojo shouted and I flinched. I looked around the store and I was highly aware of the fact that people were starting to stare at us. "The ficklest bitch I know. We broke up just last week and she's already—"

"She _doesn't like you_," Erin said slowly, as if Hojo was stupid. "Get over it."

"I'm sorry I can't just move on to the next girl a week after I confess my love to a coldhearted _bitch,_" Hojo seethed, glaring at me now. "I'm not as easy as Kagome, Shikon High's number one slut."

"She's not—"

"She's dated half the guys in our graduating class!"

I just took all of Hojo's insults, waiting for the fight to be over. A part of me wanted to stand up for myself, but another part—a larger part—was aware of the fact that I deserved it. I stomped on Hojo's heart and went out with Inuyasha a week later—I hurt him. And the sooner Hojo got this all out of his system, the sooner everything would go back to normal. Hojo would finally be able to just forget about our relationship and only think of me as a whore instead of constantly saying it to my face.

"It's the truth," Hojo continued, hissing. "She's just a dirty whore."

Erin obviously didn't believe in just letting Hojo get all his hatred towards me out of his system.

"You," she started, reaching up and snatching Hojo by his collar, bringing him down so he was eye to eye with her, "should really shut the hell up because Kagome is one of my best friends and I will have you thrown in front of a firing squad if you _ever _call her anything besides her name again."

"Get off me, midget," Hojo growled, trying to release himself from the vise grip Erin had on his shirt, but Erin only held tighter. She was surprisingly strong when she was pissed off.

"I will—"

"That's enough, Erin," T.J barked in his superior tone, trying to get a grip on the situation. I saw him glance around the store and notice all the people staring and he yanked Hojo away from Erin. "I'm going to have to ask you to leave, sir."

"That's it?" Erin looked at T.J. "You're just going to _ask _him to leave? You're not going to have him banned from the store or even throw him—"

"You're not off the hook either, Ms. Chiba," T.J snapped at Erin, his glare shutting her up, though she still looked livid. Her hands formed fists at her sides as she unwillingly submitted to T.J. "I'll talk to you later." Still keeping his hold on Hojo, T.J led him to the door. T.J caught my eye and hesitated for only a second before he looked at all the gaping customers and dragged Hojo outside.

"T.J's too soft," Erin huffed, glaring at the door. "He should have banned him from ever stepping foot in this store again."

Now that Hojo was gone and he wasn't screaming in my face anymore, I realized it was silent in the store. I chanced a glance around and noticed all the faces that were staring at me, gaping with judgment in their eyes. Oh joy. People outside of school know I'm a slut too.

I raked my fingers through my hair and fought off the stinging in the back of my eyes. I would _not _cry in public. I smiled at the lady who had been standing behind Hojo when he started telling me off, waiting to check out.

"Can I check you out?" I asked in my most polite voice, sounding as if the events had not just occurred seconds ago. I was very good at pretending.

"Um…" The lady looked hesitant to speak in the silent store. "I guess I'm ready now."

I nodded and took the boxes from the woman's hands, trying to ignore the silence. How long were they going to stare at me? How many of them actually were looking at me and thinking that I was a dirty whore?

The door chimed and T.J stepped back in. He looked around the silent store for a second and then just headed for his office in the back, slamming the door shut behind him.

"Do you think she's Kagome Higurashi?" I heard a voice whisper from the back of the store, but I didn't dare look up to try to figure out who it was. "I've heard about her when we were playing against Shikon a couple of weeks ago and their players said—"

"Hello Shoe Carnival shoppers and good evening!" I looked over to see Erin shouting into the mike, blindly searching for the stack of trivia cards we had forgotten about when she threw the shoe at Hojo. "We're just a tad bit behind but it's time for some Shoe Carnival trivia! Who wants to win an amazing discount on their purchase today?" There was a small amount of cheering. "Oh, that was _weak. _Who would be happy to walk away with a free pair of shoes?" The cheering was louder this time and it seemed to satisfy Erin. "Well, if you can tell me…" Erin quickly looked down and snatched one of the trivia cards up. "What future soviet dictator was training to be a priest when he got turned on to Marxism?" The chatter that usually filled the store after a trivia question started up and the feeling of normality slowly started to return. "The first one with the correct answer gets to spin our _magical _wheel of discounts, so think fast!"

Erin put the mike away and I finished up with the lady at my register, bagging her boxes and sending her a polite farewell as she gathered her things and left.

"Thanks," I said turning to Erin. "Really."

"You're thanking me for doing my job?" Erin raised a brow at me. "I was actually under the impression that I was _supposed _to ask trivia questions."

"I'm serious Erin." I looked into her eyes and smiled. "Thanks for sticking up for me."

"It was nothing," Erin shrugged. "Friends don't leave friends on the battlefield. But, I swear to God, Kagome, if you ever let one of those jerks you call exes talk about you like that again, I will kick _your _ass for just taking it. I don't care about your discovery of guilt, you don't deserve to be treated like that and I will hurt you if I ever find out you allowed some asshole to put you down." Erin glared at me. "I'm dead serious."

I smiled at her. "Have I told you that you're a great friend?"

At that moment T.J's door opened and he pointed to Erin and motioned for her to come into his office with his finger. He looked pissed.

"You could definitely mention it more often."

-x-

"Say it again."

I grabbed my bag from under the counter and stood up, finding Erin slumped over the other side of the counter. She had spent the rest of our shift in T.J's office being lectured and, judging by the look of her, it turned out to be as bad as I assumed.

"Say what again?" I asked as I reached back under the counter to grab Erin's messenger bag for her.

"That I'm a great friend so I don't regret throwing a shoe at that jerk."

"You're an absolutely phenomenal friend and I'm lucky to have you." I locked my register and stored all the shoes that had been brought back for a refund under the counter for somebody else to put back. "How bad was it?"

"He docked my pay for the next two months. Two months, Kagome! I mean, we were already getting paid minimum wage so to just take off from that? That's breaking the law!" Erin groaned and flopped on top of the counter, her arms stretched out in front of her and her face pressed against the cool countertop. "I hate my life."

"At least he didn't fire you."

"Yeah, but I don't think he loves us as much as I said he did." She turned her head to look up at me. "Do you know that it is absolute _torture _to have T.J bitch you out for _four hours? _I thought God had sent me to hell early."

"You'll live," I told her. "You bum off the band for most of life's necessities anyways."

"True." Erin pulled herself off of the counter and dragged her messenger bag off as well, tossing it over her shoulder. "Well, let's get out of here before T.J remembers there's something else I did that deserves lecturing."

"Okie dokey." I threw my bag over my shoulder and headed around the counter to meet Erin and we both headed towards the door. "I'll drive you to Kouga's house as a thank you."

"But Kagome," Erin whined, "I don't want to go to his house. He was a jerk to me this morning."

"Really?"

"Yes, _really_. He ate all the cereal before I woke up and I had to have oatmeal!" Erin made it sound like it was a huge deal and I rolled my eyes. "Don't roll your eyes at me, I really wanted that cereal! And you know what he told me?"

"What?"

"He told me to suck it up and go to school. That's basically telling me to go to hell!" Erin crossed her arms and huffed. "I'm not ready to forgive him yet."

I laughed as we came to my car and I unlocked the door. "Well, we won't go to Kouga's right away then. I have to make a stop anyways."

"Where?" Erin asked as she opened her door and got in.

"Bean Café." I got in and started the car, buckling my seat belt. "Inuyasha's working again tonight."

"Gross," Erin said, wrinkling her nose. "Now I get to see the two of you all lovey-dovey."

"We're not—" I stopped myself when I remembered how futile it is for me to try to convince anyone that I wasn't dating Inuyasha. "You'll be fine," I said, putting my car into reverse. "I promise not to kiss him in front of you."

Erin fiddled with my radio, changing the station every time a song she didn't like or commercials came on, as I drove to Bean Café. I've taken a habit in going to visit Inuyasha every day after my shift since Sango told me where he worked and we usually ended up eating pie while talking. With all the pie I've been eating, I've actually been trying in Weight Management.

I pulled into the parking lot and parked, checking the dash. "Well, there's still ten minutes left until closing," I told Erin. "I usually don't go in until right before he switches the open light off."

"Uh-huh." Erin had started to doze off half way to the coffee shop. "Does anybody even buy coffee this late at night?"

"Some people are going to be pulling all-nighters or starting a long trip."

"Isn't that what Starbucks is for?" Erin asked.

"Some people like small shops." I looked into the front window to see Inuyasha working behind the counter, but there was nobody to serve. "Nobody's in there though."

"Then go inside already." Erin shifted in her seat, bringing her legs up so she could curl up in a ball. "I'm going to be taking a nap."

"You sure you don't want to come in?" I asked as I pulled the keys out of the ignition. "There'll be pie."

"I'll have to skip this one. I really don't want to watch you two flirt."

"Whatever." I opened my door and got out. "I might be a while."

"Mmhmm." Erin was already going back to sleep. "See you later."

I shut the door behind me and walked up to the shop, knocking twice before opening the door. Inuyasha had his hair pulled back in a ponytail and he shot me a quick grin over his shoulder. Despite how annoying everyone's assumption of me and Inuyasha dating had been earlier, right now, at the moment when I was finally alone with him, I didn't mind so much anymore.

"Hey," Inuyasha greeted me over his shoulder as I walked over to the counter. "How was work?"

How was work? That sounded like a question a husband asked his wife—not that I'm hinting at anything!

"You know, the usual," I shrugged as I sat on the countertop watching Inuyasha's back as he washed dishes in the sink located behind the counter. "Erin threw a shoe at a customer and got lectured for our entire shift and she's getting her pay docked for two months."

Inuyasha turned around wearing a disbelieving look. "What do you _do _there?"

"Work." Inuyasha raised his brows. "Hojo came in today," I finally confessed. Because of what happened with Ryuuji, I had made up my mind not to tell Inuyasha about the Hojo incident, but lying to him turned out to be harder than I thought. "And then it just went downhill from there."

The amused look on Inuyasha's face fell. "What happened?"

"It was nothing," I tried to wave off. "He was just being… angry. And he's just a douche bag, like you said, so I don't have to take anything he said seriously."

"What did he say?"

I just looked at him. "I'm pretty sure you can guess." Inuyasha looked like he wanted to hit something. "It's not a big deal, it's—"

"It was obviously serious enough for Erin to throw a fucking shoe at him!"

"Erin was just being Erin. She… She just felt like throwing a shoe," I lied. "It's nothing."

Inuyasha leaned back against the sink and crossed his arms. "Then tell me exactly what he said."

"He was mad that I was out with you yesterday a week after we broke up," I shrugged, looking down at the floor. "And some other stuff, but," I hurried before Inuyasha blew a gasket, "Erin already gave me the speech of how I shouldn't let anybody call me a sl—bad things and if I ever let it happen again she'll kick my ass."

"I'm going to beat that punk's—"

"Don't do anything, Inuyasha," I begged and he looked at me like I was crazy for wanting to stop him from beating Hojo to a pulp. "Honestly, it'll just make things worse and he'll hate me even more."

Inuyasha looked like he would fight me on my decision before he finally stopped to take three long (emphasis on _long) _deep breaths. "I really hate this guy."

"Me too." We were silent for a few seconds. "So," I started, "do you have any pie for me today?"

Inuyasha sighed. "There's some pecan pie left. Do you like that?"

"It doesn't _sound _very good." I'm not really a nut fan. Inuyasha placed a saucer with a pie covered in pecans beside me and looked at me for a decision. "Well, I guess I could try it."

Inuyasha grabbed two forks that were resting by the sink, but before he handed one to me he paused, staring at something behind me, cocking his head to the side. "Is that… Erin?"

I turned around to see Erin's face smashed up against the glass making disturbing faces as she waited for us to notice her. "Yeah… She said she was going to stay in the car and take a nap."

"Why is she with you, again?"

"I'm taking her to Kouga's after this to thank her for being such a stand up gal."

"I see."

"I know you two can see me!" Erin shouted and she stopped making faces and removed her face from the glass. "Open the door, already. It's cold out here!"

"Should I let her in?" Inuyasha asked.

I shrugged. "She definitely deserves it."

Inuyasha placed the forks down beside me and jogged to the door to open it for Erin. She stood in the doorway with her arms crossed, glaring at both of us.

"Were you two actually contemplating whether or not to let me in?"

"Yeah?"

"Jerks." Erin hit Inuyasha in his arm before walking up to join me on the counter. She picked up one of the forks Inuyasha had placed down and took a large bite out of the pie. A second later she was spitting the pie out on the counter. "That's nasty."

"Damnit, Erin," Inuyasha cursed. "I just finished wiping the counter down!"

"Sorry."

"Why'd you get out of the car?" I asked Erin.

"Well, since you didn't leave the keys in the car, I couldn't turn the heat on and I was getting cold so I couldn't fall back to sleep. And then my iPod died so I had no music or games to keep me entertained… which means I had nothing to do. So that's why I'm here."

"Why were you making those faces against the glass?" Inuyasha questioned, taking a forkful of the pie, liking it much more than Erin did. "You looked deranged."

"I thought it would be funny."

We were at the Bean Café until about 10:30, just talking and I got to work on editing a few articles while I was there (I grabbed them out of my car while Inuyasha and Erin argued over the best kind of pie). We probably would have been there all night if Kouga hadn't called Erin, demanding to know where she was. Sometimes he was more like an overprotective father than a brother.

"I'll see you guys tomorrow," Inuyasha waved as he headed toward Triple G. "Bye Erin, bye Kagome."

"Bye," we both said in unison, opening the doors to my car.

"I better see you at Kouga's on time," Erin called out to Inuyasha and he just waved her off. "I'm serious!"

"Bye Kagome," Inuyasha said again.

"You said 'Bye Kagome' twice," Erin pointed out to him, shouting across the parking lot.

"I _lllllliiiiiike _Kagome."

Erin looked like she was contemplating whether or not Inuyasha suffered from brain damage and I just snorted, shaking my head. That line was from Spongebob.

"There's something wrong with you, Inuyasha!" Erin yelled at him. "Go get your head checked!"

"Bye Kagome," Inuyasha said again, opening his car door and winking at me. "Now I said it three times for good luck."

"Weirdo," I mumbled as I slid into the driver's seat and shut the door behind me.

Erin got in and turned to me. "Don't make me have to throw shoes at Inuyasha if you two ever break up."

"We're not even dating."

Erin just laughed as if what I said was the funniest thing on earth.

-x-

_I really don't need to reevaluate my friends; I have the greatest friends a girl could ever ask for._

_**-0-0-0-0-0-**_

_**All done with that chapter and the next one is the Odd Ball Olympics! Finally! And I'm going to ask again for events that can be used for the Olympics AND Carnival games. I have a few, but I'm still coming up a bit short. You can give me your ideas when you REVIEW!**_

_**And, last chapter we reached 100 reviews (thank you InuKags for being the 100**__**th**__** reviewer) and hanmajo made a banner for the occasion. If you want to see the banner you can email her at hanmajoerin at yahoo dot com.**_

_**Don't forget to review again!**_

_**~Kimiko888~**_

_**And my job… has been COMPLETED!**_

_**~hanmajoerin**_


	12. Run on Water

**Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha**

**Before I start this chapter I would like to thank a few people for inspiration: my aunt for accusing my cousin of losing his marbles that one time because he wore gloves for _two seconds _in the middle of summer; my ninth grade swimming class for putting me through hell for that final; and (my new favorite distraction site for laughs) for that amazing quote about goldfish—you all are truly inspiring**

**Walking Tightropes**

**Chapter 12: Run On Water**

_I hate the feeling you get when you realize you've done something stupid after it's too late. Volunteering Inuyasha to kiss a bunch of girls? Very stupid._

-x-

"Mira! Get down here and talk some sense into your daughter because I swear, this girl's gone and lost all her marbles!"

"Grandpa…"

I could hear Mom creaking down the steps and a few seconds later she was standing in the kitchen threshold in her robe, rubbing sleep from her eyes. Since Mom doesn't have to be at work until nine, she usually didn't get up until eight. Being up at 6:30 is not her favorite thing in the world.

"What is it, Dad?"

"Your daughter has lost her mind!" Grandpa shouted, pointing an accusing finger at me. "She's wearing a bikini in the middle of winter!"

"It's actually fall and I'm not even wearing it yet."

"Did you hear that?" Grandpa looked at my mom with wide eyes. "_Yet._"

This morning I made the fatal mistake of leaving my swim suit and towel on the table while I made my lunch instead of just shoving it in a bag (I forgot that my grandfather is a very irrational individual). He had shuffled into the kitchen to boil water for his tea before he went out to get the newspaper when he noticed my bikini resting on my towel and that motivated him to go into a long rant about how only crazies put on bikinis to go hopping in the snow. It didn't seem to matter that it wasn't snowing outside _or_ that we haven't even reached freezing temperatures yet; Grandpa thought I had lost my mind.

"Kagome," Mom turned to look at me, "what's going on?"

"The fundraiser for the newspaper is today and the first event is in the pool," I explained as I finished making my sandwich. "And I was just going to pack my stuff away in my bag when Grandpa came in and started lecturing me."

"You still shouldn't be wearing bikinis around all those teenage boys," Grandpa continued, waving his finger at me. "They're nothing but a bunch of horndogs!"

"Have a good day at school," Mom told me, moving into the kitchen to give me a kiss on the cheek before she walked back out, heading for the steps. "And I need you to pick up a few things from the store on your way home. I'll email you a shopping list so make sure you print it out before you leave school."

"Yes ma'am." Mom smiled at me over her shoulder before she went back up the stairs to return to sleep. When I turned back around, Grandpa still had a suspicious look on his face. "I'm not crazy."

Grandpa just shook his head and started mumbling under his breath as he went over to the pantry to get a tea bag. "What the—where's all the cereal!"

I took that as my cue to hurry up and leave before he noticed the box of Apple Jacks resting by my book-bag.

-x-

"Kagome!"

I was about halfway to Inuyasha's car when Sango and Bank came out of nowhere, both walking up on either side of me and tossing an arm over my shoulders.

"What has you two so excited at seven in the morning?" I asked, not breaking my stride towards Inuyasha's truck now only a few feet away.

"The plans we are making for Friday night," Bank explained to me. "It's around that time of year when the terrific trio must strike again."

I groaned. _"Already?"_

"Kagome," Sango gasped, leaning away from me, staring at me as if I had truly offended her. "Don't sound so depressed about it. This is our tradition! When was the last time you, me, and Bank all went to a house party together?"

"When we all got wasted and you two laughed and snapped pictures at my table dancing instead of saving me from humiliation," I reminded them as we reached Inuyasha's car and I opened the passenger's seat and climbed in. Sango and Bank moved to get into the backseat without waiting for Inuyasha's permission. "Hey, Inuyasha."

"Hi…" he trailed off, looking back at Sango and Bank with a raised brow. "And you two are in my car because…"

"Past mistakes should be forgiven, Kags," Sango said to me, ignoring Inuyasha. "Jeez, why are there so many CDs back here?" Sango mumbled, shoving CD cases onto the ground to make space for herself. "I think you may be a hoarder, Inuyasha."

"And I promise not to bring my camera this time," Bank swore, placing his hand over his heart as Sango closed the door behind them. "Scout's honor."

"I've heard that one before."

"But I mean it this time."

"Again," Inuyasha spoke up louder this time, demanding attention, "_Why_ are you two in my car?"

"For the cereal, duh," Sango answered as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Oh, I'm sorry. Did you want some alone time with Kagome?"

Inuyasha's scratched the top of his head and bashfully turned away from Sango. "Not really…"

"We're here to remind Kagome of our tradition that's been running for four years," Bank explained to Inuyasha while I took out two bowls of cereal from my book bag and two tiny of milk cartons I found hidden in the back of our fridge this morning.

"What's the tradition?"

"It's stupid," I warned Inuyasha, handing him the box of cereal after I poured some into my own bowl. "It's not even really a tradition anymore since Sango isn't single."

"Um, if I do recall correctly, third quarter last year you were dating what's-his-face and you still went out partying with us out of tradition."

"It wasn't a serious relationship though," I argued back. "I only dated him for—"

"You two can stop arguing already," Bank cut in. "I'm the only one of us who's a true stud and remained single throughout the years."

Sango snorted. "It's not like that was out of choice."

"Shut up!"

"Stop, stop, stop," Inuyasha commanded all of us, holding his hand up. "What the hell are you three talking about?"

"Back in freshman year, Bank, Sango, and I decided we should create a tradition to go to one house party every quarter, just the three of us."

"Why just the three of you?"

"Because we were all single when we thought about going to a party and decided to celebrate our single lives there. Now, it's really just an excuse to go partying."

"But it's special because it's just the three of us," Sango added, reaching up to grab the box of cereal from Inuyasha so she and Bank could share. "And since Kagome has now given up alcohol we could really use her as our designated driver."

"I feel so special."

"And we want you with us," Bank assured me. "You don't even have to be the designated driver. Actually, do drink; you're the funniest drunk ever."

No, please don't start sharing stories, please!

What Sango and Bankotsu found hilarious, I found an absolute horror/humiliation that I was lucky enough to forget while I _was_ drunk. Unfortunately, these two always find it necessary to remind me of the crazy stuff I pulled because they couldn't stop thinking about how "funny" it was.

"Like, remember that one time we crashed Yura's house party and Kagome started telling her off and almost started a bitch fight?" Sango asked and a grin started to grow on Bank's face while I silently prayed for a hole to swallow me up. Or for Sango and Bank to momentarily lose their voices. "We were good friends that day though and actually dragged you out before you started throwing punches."

"Remember when we were at Raiden's party over fall break and he found out his parents were going to be home earlier than planned and Kagome went running around the house screaming, 'THE BRITISH ARE COMING!'?"

"Oh! And that other time when we were in Kikyo's basement and she had those goldfish?" Sango turned to Inuyasha with a giant crap-eating grin on her face. "Kikyo's carpet was blue back then and Kagome was throwing Kikyou's goldfish on floor yelling at them to swim. She kept screaming—"

"SWIM BITCHES!" Bank finished off for Sango and they both started rolling around in the backseat while I hid my face in my hands when I heard Inuyasha joined them.

"And then there's that time Kikyo dragged us to Naraku's party and Kagome managed to convince herself that we were surrounded by a cult of vampires that were waiting to suck our blood." Bank smiled at me. "You said, 'they've come to suck our blood' about a thousand times that night."

Naraku is creepy, his friends are creepy, and that party was _seriously_ creepy. It was a very logical assumption considering I was drunk.

"And then she got it in her head that the only way to save ourselves was to pretend to be one of them so she went up to this guy and bit his neck to show that she was 'one of them'." Inuyasha gaped at me and I pointed an accusing finger to the two hyenas in the back seat.

"Do you see what I have to live with? Do you _see_ the kind of friends I have? They actually let me do that!"

"Hey, we got you a boyfriend by letting you go through your drunken antics," Sango defended herself and Bank nodded vigorously. "You two dated for two weeks."

Failure #16; one of the biggest mistakes of my life. Dating some guy I met at a party where I thought everyone was a vampire was a serious lapse of judgment on my part. And what kind of creep actually dates the random girl that bites their neck? That just screams something's wrong with you.

"You missed it, Inuyasha," Bank sighed, leaning up to pat Inuyasha's shoulder. "Kagome's sworn to sobriety now."

"And I thought your table dancing was wild," Inuyasha said, grinning at me. "I actually looked up that song _Woohoo_ too."

My entire face fell. "No you didn't."

"Yes I did." Inuyasha smirked at me. "You're going to be on Santa's naughty list."

"Oh God," I groaned, hiding my beet red face in my hands again. "Just kill me now."

"I know you really wanna—"

"Stop!" I shouted, cutting off Bank's singing. I reached for the door handle and opened my door, ready to get out. "I'm going to leave before any of you have the chance to embarrass me even more."

"Wait, Kagome!" Inuyasha's hand reached out and wrapped around my wrist before I could even get my first foot to touch the ground. "We'll be good now." I raised my brow at him because he was still laughing and grinning when he said it, but Inuyasha straightened his face out and looked at me seriously. "I promise."

"Fine," I decided after a few seconds, pulling my foot back in the car and shutting the door. "I trust you, but I'm very doubtful about you two," I said, glaring back at Bank and Sango who just grinned at me widely, looking like two toddlers waiting to get into trouble.

"Do you see what we have to go through?" Sango asked Inuyasha. "She doesn't have an ounce of faith in us and we're her best friends."

"Who let me do stupid stuff when I was drunk."

"Because it's funny." I rolled my eyes and Bank got the idea to change the subject. "So, how about the Odd Ball Olympics today? You ready?"

"Yeah!" Sango and I shouted back at Bank, out of habit. It was another tradition we've formed over the years.

"You ready?"

"Yeah!"

"Well alright," Bank chanted back. "Alri-i-ight."

"Kagome, get back here so we can do the chest bump."

Inuyasha shook his head at us. "You guys are weird."

"It's another tradition," Sango explained. "Bank started it when we were trying to get pumped about cramming for finals."

"Isn't today the pool event?" Bank asked and both Sango and I nodded our heads in agreement. "I still don't get why you willingly volunteered to hop in a pool in the middle of October."

"Exercise."

"You hate exercising," Sango pointed out. "Oh, remember that one time she decided to—"

"Sango!" I snapped at her and she shut up, lowering her head.

"I'm sorry," Sango apologized. "But, the pool event, yeah. Very exciting, right Inuyasha?" A slow grin grew across Sango's face as she leaned forward. "You get to watch all these girls prance around in their swimsuits and then you get to smooch a few more girls; good day, huh?"

"He's not Miroku," I defended. "He would be excited about that."

"And kissing random girls isn't the same as kissing someone you actually like."

"Thank you. It's good to see some guys aren't all—" I had turned around to face Inuyasha only to see him staring at me. Was he staring at me when he was talking earlier? Did that mean—

"Ugggghhh," Bank groaned with a mouthful of dry cereal and I snapped my head around to see him scrunching his face in disgust and Sango using her I-just-found-good-gossip smirk. "No flirting! I'm trying to eat here."

"Would kissing Kagome be something you'd enjoy?" She asked Inuyasha and I went ahead and let myself out of the car so I wouldn't have to suffer the embarrassment anymore.

This is why Inuyasha and I should keep our breakfasts together, between only us.

-x-

"Oh, _now_ I see why you were so happy to volunteer yourself for the pool event." I threw my shirt into an open locker and gave Sango a questioning look. "I'm not stupid, Kagome. Inuyasha has to watch this event and out of all the bathing suits you own, you chose to wear _that_ bikini." Sango gave me a knowing look. "Come on now."

I guess it would be a lie to say that the thought wasn't at the forefront of my mind when I picked it out, but after what Sango pulled in Inuyasha's car earlier…. I was perfectly fine with not sharing that information. She'd probably tell Inuyasha the second she saw him. Sango claimed she was just helping the "InuKag development", but it took me half way through second block to be able to even look at Inuyasha without blushing.

"I can wear something nice without having ulterior motives."

"And it would be a first," Sango countered. "All logic points to wearing a one-piece today since we're going to be diving in the water and stuff and the only reason you'd ignore a logical decision is to impress someone, someone being Inuyasha." She smirked at me and I guess the look on my face must have given me away. "I am the gossip columnist; it's my job to be tuned in to the little details."

"Well, I have to do something," I insisted, stripping off my jeans and grabbing the towel out of my bag (I had changed into my swimsuit after weight management so I could be done faster and have enough time to double check everything). "All these girls are going to be kissing him and are probably going to try shoving their tongues down his throat and I have to keep his attention on me." I was putting my hair up into a bun when Sango finally pulled out her bathing suit. "And you're wearing a bikini, too!"

"Yeah, but not my best one."

"This isn't my best one."

"Well it's pretty damn close." Sango stripped her shirt off and tied her bikini over her bra. "I don't know whether to congratulate you on admitting you like Inuyasha or shudder at the fact that you're using sex appeal to wrap him around your finger." Sango was about to take her bra off from under her bikini top when she stopped, thinking it over. "Oh jeez; that sounds really manipulative."

"I'm not manipulative!" I argued, and Sango just laughed. "And I have a hoodie to go over it until I have to get in the pool so I'm not just flaunting everything." I held up the hoodie I was about to put on. It was another one of my dad's hoodies and it fell to my upper thigh, effectively covering a lot. "See?"

"You're still going to have to take it off."

"At least I have something, unlike you." I pulled my hoodie on and waited for Sango to finish getting ready, doing stretches while she put her stuff away in a locker.

Sango put a lock on her locker—you can't trust anyone these days—and turned around to give me a funny look while I was stretching my hamstrings. "What the hell are you doing?"

"I'm stretching," I told her, switching into a lunge. "You should do it too. You don't want all those muscles to suddenly tense up while you're in the deep end."

"I'll stretch out there."

"Okay then," I shrugged. "You go stretch in your bikini when the pool is packed with all those guys just waiting for a girl to—"

"Okay, I get it," Sango cut me off. "I'm going to start stretching. You should go out there to make sure everything's actually in order. You did leave Aki with a megaphone."

I should hurry.

"Hurry it up," I told Sango, as I grabbed my towel and draped it over my arm. "We're supposed to be getting started in five minutes."

"Gives me just enough time to work on my glutes," Sango laughed and I just shook my head and walked out of the locker room.

When I stepped out of the locker room I was actually put into a state of shock. I seriously was not expecting this many people to bother coming today. I knew we had done a lot of work advertising The Odd-Ball Olympics to make it seem like an amazing thing, but I thought my classmates would be genuine high schoolers and decide they had better things to do than watch the staff of the newspaper—the newspaper practically no one reads—hop around in the pool. Or maybe they wanted to see people stripped down to their bathing suits.

Wait a minute… I'm using a lot of sex appeal in advertising this, aren't I? Come see girls and guys in their swimsuits (half naked) in the pool for the first event. To get people even more interested, they could win a kiss from Ms. Kido or Inuyasha (two very desirable people in school) as long as they bet enough cash on the winning team. Holy hell, I'm pimping people out for money. I'm a pimp.

I'll need to buy a purple suit.

"And now presenting the long awaited Kagome Higurashi!" I turned my head to see Aki sitting on the lifeguard stand, the megaphone I had to beg Coach T for, again, at his mouth. "Our sexy editor is sporting… a hoodie." Aki lowered the megaphone and gave me what a very disappointed look. "I've been gassing you up all day and you only have _this_ to show for it? I've been promising these guys a lot of lovely ladies and you come out dressed in a figureless hoodie?" Aki shook his head. "I knew should have tried harder to convince Kikyo to participate in this event."

"Why are you in the lifeguard's chair?" I asked, deciding it was best just to disregard everything that came out of Aki's mouth. "We need a real lifeguard in case someone really needs help."

"A real lifeguard?" Aki looked offended. "I'm a real lifeguard! Don't you remember how I told you I was taking lifeguarding as a class last year? I told you I worked at the gym as a lifeguard…" Aki looked at me expectantly, but none of this information was gauging any memories. "Do you listen to a word I say?"

"Not really…"

Aki's face fell. "You really know how to make a guy feel special."

"I try," I shrugged and Aki sighed, his shoulders sinking. "How about you try selling newspapers and getting people to place bets instead of introducing girls, hm?" Aki seemed to be unconvinced by this suggestion, but I lifted a brow at him and he got the message.

"While we wait for the other competitors to make their way to the pool, let's talk about the reason you're all hear today: to help the school newspaper which is in dire need of your cash. Shikon Times has been a part of…"

I tuned Aki out as he worked on his sob story to try to win a few sympathy bets—considering most high schoolers are cheap and uncaring, I had doubts of this doing the trick—and started searching around for Inuyasha. I found him sitting on the first row of the very first bleacher off to the right of the pool. Miroku and Bank were sitting on either side of him, elbowing him, and laughing about something while Inuyasha kept his face down and hidden.

"Hey, Inuyasha." Inuyasha's head snapped up and I could see the small trace of the blush he must have been trying to hide earlier.

"Hey, Kagome," Inuyasha grinned, shoving Bank to the side so there was room for me to sit beside him on the bench. "You actually ready to finally get this thing started?"

"Eh," I shrugged as I took the seat next to him, stuffing my hands in the pocket of Dad's hoodie. "I can think of a few better things than having to jump in the pool. The water is always freezing." Maybe I should have tried to get out of this event… "Oh, I need to apologize, by the way."

"For what?"

"Pimping you out for money for the paper." Inuyasha's eyebrows rose. "Yeah, I had a revelation that I was pimping you out just a second ago, so, I apologize."

"Kagome," Miroku started, "I have a whole new level of respect for you. You achieved my dream job before you even reached the age of a legal adult."

"Well, you know," I brushed my shoulder off as if it were nothing, "You've got to be ambitious if you want to make it in the business world."

"You're right…" Miroku nodded. "I'm going to go downtown and find some prostitutes that need my protection right after this."

"That's funny, because I thought you and I had a study date for French."

"Sango!" Miroku smiled cheekily at his girlfriend and she just crossed her arms, rolling her eyes. "You know, you always come in at the worst part of the joke. You look stunning in your bikini, by the way; very sexy."

"Uh-huh." Sango moved to sit next to Miroku anyways and didn't protest when he draped his arm over her shoulders. "Oh, Raiden is looking for you," Sango said turning to me. "He wants to go over everything with you before we get started."

"Oh, alright then." Raiden was in charge of getting this event together. I stood up from my seat, which didn't even have a chance to get warm, and set my towel down there. "I'll catch you guys after the event then."

"Yeah," Inuyasha nodded. I saw him gaze at my legs for a second before blinking quickly and shaking his head. "Yeah, I'll see you after this. I'm not working today and Erin let me off of band practice so do you want—"

"Kagome!" I turned my head to see Shinji, the junior reporter who always complains about the deadline, running up to me in his trunks and towel draped around his neck. "We need to think of a strategy to win this. I was talking to Hitomi just a second ago and she said that her team has already got a plan laid out."

"We really don't have to win this," I pointed out. "We just need the money."

"Kagome." Shinji looked me in the eyes. "I have to win this. I hate losing."

Oh joy; I have one of _those_ kinds of guys on my team. Now I'm going to be under pressure to actually try. Bleh.

"Okay then, you can tell me the strategy while I walk over to Raiden." I started heading towards the other side of the pool where Raiden was standing and Shinji followed me, chattering on and on about a formation and assigning each person a job and maybe blah, blah, blah. I looked over my shoulder and waved every single finger individually at Inuyasha and his eyes snapped up to actually smile at my face instead of whatever it was that had him so transfixed.

I like to think that my plan to keep Inuyasha's eyes on me is a great success.

"Alright, Kagome," Raiden began when I finally made it over to him. There were three large stacks of mats in front of us and he pointed to one. "There's about fifteen in each stack to use to get across the pool, but when I tested it earlier you really only need ten. The extra five are just in case."

"I like your efficiency," I nodded. "How about the betting polls?"

"We have a lot of bets coming in. I think the highest bidder put down fifty bucks."

"Really?" I was shocked. "We're going to have enough money in no time! We'll probably be able to send twenty people to prom this year."

"Let's not make that mistake twice in a row," Raiden smiled down at me. "You don't want to be remembered as the girl who saved the paper only to put it in debt all over again."

"That's true. Thank you for the advice."

"Can I offer some more advice?" I nodded my head. "Make sure your bikini is tied really tight. There's a secret bet going on between the guys about whose top will fall off and quite a few people are putting a lot of money on you."

"What?" Really, this school has too many horndogs. "I'll get Sango to double check it for me. Thanks for the heads up."

"No problem."

Raiden is one of my favorite people outside of my group of friends. Not only is he a good journalist, reliable, and nice, he's also Failure #26. And Failure #26 is the only ex I can really look at without cringing inside, which means a lot to me. I'm pretty sure I have our mutual break up (after a week of dating) to thank for that. I have no reason to feel guilty, either, because he's currently dating a new girl from the school right down the street and is absolutely smitten with her. Still, you don't even know how nice it is to have one of my exes _not _hate me.

I stayed and talked to Raiden for the rest of the time that was left—five minutes turned into ten minutes—and then Aki held a button down on the megaphone, a loud beep sounding throughout the swimming pool and everyone got quiet.

"Good afternoon, Shikon High students!" Aki yelled into the megaphone. "Welcome to the Odd-Ball Olympics!" There was cheering and clapping and I felt tension I didn't even know exist leave my shoulders. I was more nervous about people showing up and actually being excited than I thought.

Aki went on to explain the event and rules to the audience so they knew what was going on. The objective of "Run on Water" is to use the floating mats to build a bridge across the pool and have each member run across the bridge successfully. The only rules are that each team has to stay within their own lane and they can't physically interfere with another team.

Aki also explained that the person (or people) who placed the highest bid on the winning team would get the prize and the rest of the people who placed bets would get the satisfaction of knowing their donation will help keep the paper running. Not too many people with the potential of losing were happy about that.

"So let's get started!" Aki shouted and the crowd cheered again. "First, I'm going to introduce you to each team. On Team One we have the lovely sophomore reporter Hitomi, sporting the sleek black halter tankini top with a pair of short plaid green shorts. What a lovely, beautiful girl; why don't you do a spin for us, Hitomi?" Hitomi scowled at Aki and refused to spin, crossing her arms. "Sorry folks, she's a little shy. Moving on. Also on Team One is one of our sports photographers, Kira, who is also the captain and MVP of our varsity volleyball team, and she is sporting a flattering one piece that really shows off her form. Kira is also…"

"It looks like Aki got to have his fashion show after all," Raiden whispered in my ear and I nodded. I knew I would somehow regret letting him be the announcer. "He's not a dumb as he looks."

"Apparently." Aki was finishing up with Team Two, Ken flexing for the girls as Aki described his black and lime green trunks. "Well, I've got to get going now," I said, pulling off my hoodie and handing it to Raiden. "Don't let it get wet, okay? That's an important hoodie."

"I gotcha'," Raiden assured me. "Oh, and your bikini." Raiden mimicked tying a string around his neck. "Extra tight."

"Okay." I said goodbye to him and started heading towards my group—Sango, Shinji, and Eiji, the sports editor—and I looked at Inuyasha on my way to them. From the other side of the pool he was watching me, blowing air slowly out of his cheeks while Bank elbowed him the side and laughed like he was doing earlier. I waved at Inuyasha again and he shot me a half smile before rubbing his face with his hands.

Yep. My mission was definitely accomplished.

"…contrasting with his red hair, Eiji has put on a very simple pair of black trunks," Aki was saying as I joined my team and Eiji waved his hand to the crowd, trying to muster up a smile. Eiji really isn't a guy who thrives from attention. "Eiji is the—And here she is folks, the moment I promised you all!" Aki shouted, cutting off Eiji's introduction, though he looked more relieved than insulted. "Our head editor-in-chief, Kagome Higurashi!" There was cheering and I was so beyond relieved when I didn't hear any obscenities thrown my way, that I actually waved. "And she is looking absolutely gorgeous in that bikini with the black and white African pattern." Wearing a bikini suddenly felt very wrong when Aki was announcing it to the crowd that way. "And with our gossip columnist, Sango, standing next to her in her itsy-bitsy-teeny-weenie yellow polka dot bikini, these two ladies are just soaking up the male attention."

"So… letting Aki be the announcer?" Sango started, turning to me. "Yeah, one of your worst ideas ever."

"I'm realizing that." Aki was introducing Shinji and then we would finally be able to start the game. "Oh, can you double knot the ties for me?" I asked her, turning around. "Raiden told me there's a secret bet on whose top falls off and I don't want that to be me."

"Perverts," Sango scoffed as she double knotted my bikini for me and I turned and did the same for her. "Oh, in case you didn't notice, Inuyasha was staring you down the entire time you were talking to Raiden. Almost had a heart attack when you took your hoodie off."

"Really?" I feigned innocence and Sango rolled her eyes.

"You should be ashamed of yourself," Sango shook her head, but she kept smiling regardless. "You're really torturing the guy."

The stacks of mats that Raiden had shown me earlier were placed by each team and Shinji hurried to explain his strategy to the rest of the team before Aki shouted for us to get started through the megaphone. A loud beep echoed through the room and a frenzy of splashing broke out as all three teams started build their bridges.

In theory, putting mats together in a straight line to run across sounds like a very easy thing to do, but it's not. These mats tend to drift away, making the bridge more like a pattern of stepping stones than a nice neat walkway. And every time someone ran across the bridge while it was straight, the mats would move further apart (again) and it would get sloppy and need fixing.

To combat this issue, Shinji had decided that we would each be in charge of a section of the bridge and try to keep it in a line as best as we could while one of our teammates ran across it. The downside of his plan is that once a person made it to the other side of the pool, they can't get back in the water. Eventually, the last runner will have to run across a broken bridge. I was that elected runner because I'm the lightest and, as it was proven from watching Ken sink into a mat and fall face first into the water, the heavier you are, the harder running across water is. Go figure.

"Can I ask again why we got stuck holding up the bridge in the deep end?" Sango asked me as she swam back and forth, making sure her part of the bridge was still in a straight line. Eiji was about to make the first sprint across and we had to make sure our first run through went flawlessly unlike the other teams. "This shit is tiring!"

It's tiring having to tread water in the deep end, but, after taking swimming my sophomore year, I built up the stamina to tread water for a long amount of time and I wasn't as worn out as Sango. I hated my final for that class—tread water for the entire length of Jaws and, if you weren't too busy trying not to pass out, you could have enjoyed the film—but I am finally seeing the benefits of taking that class.

"That's what the mats are for," I told Sango. "Use them to keep you up so you don't have to tread water."

"And have Shinji bite my head off for screwing up the bridge?" Sango rolled her eyes and scoffed as she moved another one of her mats into place. "I don't even know why I listen to that jerk. I'm a senior! I own his ass."

"We're just trying to win a game," I reminded Sango. "You don't need to make it personal."

"I'll make it personal if I want," Sango huffed, but she stopped talking about Shinji as Eiji started stomping his way across our bridge, almost losing his balance three times in the shallow end before managing to regain it.

"Holy shit," Sango mumbled as Eiji came barreling towards us. "Has Eiji always been this big?"

"Yeah," I answered. "He does wrestling, remember?"

"No." Sango moved to steady the mats she was in charge of as Eiji ran across them and then I balanced mine out, placing my arms underneath each mat to give Eiji enough support. I almost died when I felt the pressure of his weight on my arms; wrestlers are freaking huge.

Eiji managed to make it to the last mat though, being the first from all three teams to make it across the bridge, and he dove into the water (since it was declared too dangerous to hop from the mats onto the poolside). When he climbed out of the pool the crowd went into a deafening uproar, glad to see that someone had made it after fifteen minutes of people just slipping off mats and into the water.

"Hurry up!" Shinji shouted from the other side of the pool. He was already out and waiting to run across and Sango grumbled under her breath as she swam to the shallow end, fixing the mats along her way. I fixed up the five mats I was now in charge of and waited for Shinji to start his sprint.

By the time it was my turn to run across the water, our bridge was a mess, and we were just about neck to neck with Team One for the win since Shinji and Sango both had taken a couple of falls before getting to the other side. Shinji was screaming at me to hurry up while Sango sat on the ground next to him, rolling her eyes. I was tired from treading water in the deep end and swimming up and down the pool, fixing up mats, and now Shinji had the nerve to be screaming at me. He got off easy; I was doing all the work here! I had half a mind to screw up just to piss him off because he was pissing me off, but, for the sake of the people who bet on my team, I decided not to throw the game.

"Come on, Kagome!" Bank shouted and I looked over at him to see the camera held up to his face. "Make the first jump look really nice so I can get a good shot of you for yearbook!"

I didn't want a picture of myself in my bathing suit in the yearbook. He was supposed to give me words of encouragement.

"I betted on your team too, so make sure you win!" Bank added and I rolled my eyes. Of course he would try his chances at getting a kiss from Ms. Kido.

I steeled my nerves and hopped on the first mat, almost slipping off and busting my head in the shallow end because the mat was already slick with water. I regained my balance though, just in time, and steadied myself before jumping to the next mat which had drifted about five feet away.

I had to restart my run three times and each time I fell, Shinji's face went bright red and he started screaming at me. Sango snapped at him after the third time I fell off and he just took to glaring at me every time I started falling from then on. I was tied with Kira from Team One now, both of us hopping from mat to mat in the deep end, and I was getting tired of even trying. Physical exertion is super draining.

"Hurry up!" Shinji shouted at me as I stumbled onto the second to last mat. "Can't you move any faster!"

I'd like to see him do this crap when he's dead tired. My legs were shaking and ready to give out from beneath me and I felt the urge to throw the game to deliberately piss Shinji off, again, but I didn't need to make myself look like an idiot.

I only had one mat to go and as long as I got both feet on it at once, we would win and Shinji would stop screaming at me. I didn't have enough time to hesitate since Kira was an athlete and she was about to win, so I jumped on to the last mat, windmilling forward on one foot before managing to get them both planted on the mat and Aki hit a button on the megaphone, signaling the end of the game.

Thank God.

My balance tipped on the mat and I stumbled to the edge before letting myself tumble down. I clamped my left arm down over my chest to make sure I didn't give anybody the chance of winning that secret bet and I used my right arm to guide my dive into the water. I checked to makes sure all the ties on my bikini were holding up fine before I started swimming to the surface.

Shinji and Sango helped pull me out of the water. Mr. Competitive/I-must-win immediately let go of me once I was out in order to do a victory lap in front of the crowd.

"Yes! Yes!" Shinji ran up to Ken from Team Two (they must have had their own bet going) and shoved his finger in his face. "In your face!"

As of today, I really don't like Shinji.

I crawled over beside Eiji and flopped down next to him since he was still exhausted from his run (wrestlers and water just don't mix) and waited to catch my breath. Thankfully, since I won, I wouldn't have to hear Shinji's nagging and I enjoyed my moment of peace in the middle of the crowd's yelling.

As of today, I also hate the pool. Swimming takes way too much energy.

"You did good Kags," I could hear Sango congratulate me, but I was too tired to even open my eyes and acknowledge her so I just nodded my head. "You kept the girls in."

"Shut up."

"Ladies and gents, you first place winners, TEAM THREE!"

I had closed my eyes and was concentrating on my breathing when I felt something soft fall on my face. I pulled what happened to be my towel down to discover Inuyasha smirking at me.

"You know, if you did those workouts in weight management correctly, you wouldn't be so tired right now."

I pulled my towel back over my face. "Buzz off."

"Come on, Kagome," Inuyasha laughed, reaching down to take my hand and help me up, even though I didn't ask for it. I was more than content lying on the ground. It was very relaxing. "As the leader of the newspaper, don't you have to announce who wins a kiss from the one and only Inuyasha?"

Shit. I completely forgot that I have to stand and be a witness to Inuyasha kissing some girl. It'll all be happening right in front of my face. How _un_-wonderful.

"Just let me lay down for an hour." I draped my towel over my shoulder and wrapped it around my body, very happy with the fact that I took the biggest beach towel I could find since it covered most of me up. "I'm so tired right now. My legs feel like jelly."

"You did a good job," Inuyasha assured me, tossing his arm over my shoulders. Usually I would over analyze his intentions, but today I just felt glad he did it. Now all these girls starving for his kiss would know he didn't want any of them. Ha! Suck on that!

Oh, that may be bad for business…

"I especially liked you dive at the end," Inuyasha added and we were already at the bleachers where all my friends sat, Ayame getting up to congratulate me. "It really showed where your priorities were."

"You didn't know? There was a bet going around for my top to come off and I didn't want to give anybody the chance of winning," I told Inuyasha just before Ayame threw her arms around me in a hug.

"How did I miss out on that bet…?"

_"Inuyasha!"_

"Congratulations!" Ayame cut me off, giving me a tight squeeze. "Oh crap." She immediately let go of me and slightly gaped down at the wet spot on her shirt. "I forgot you were all wet."

"I did just get out the pool. It's amazing how you could forget that so fast." I took a seat on the bleachers to rest my jelly-filled legs. "Ayame, we've got to start trying in weight management," I told her, leaning back on the row behind me where Sango and Miroku sat, bickering with each other. "I'm in really bad shape."

"I've noticed." Ayame laughed and I shoved her leg before closing my eyes again.

I spent the next ten minutes trying to catch my breath and regain a solid feeling in my legs while the people in charge of the betting polls figured out who the winners were and counted how much money we collected today. Finally, Aki announced that the winners had been accounted for and were about to be introduced and I took that as my cue to get up. Raiden handed me my dad's hoodie and I dried off as best as I could, wringing the water out of my hair and pulling it back into a ponytail, before slipping the hoodie over my head and walking to the lifeguard stand, Inuyasha following close behind me.

"So, are you ready to make a few girls' wishes come true?" I asked Inuyasha, almost laughing when he grimaced.

"Not really."

"You're doing it for a good cause," I assured him, patting him on the shoulder, though I wasn't at all thrilled about the situation either. I'm just good at faking it. "You never know, you might really make a connection with one of them."

Inuyasha looked me in the eyes when he answered, "I highly doubt it."

"Alright everybody," I started when Aki handed me the megaphone and the list of winners; his announcer role ended and now he was armed with a camera. "The results are in and the winners of the first event in the Odd-Ball Olympics are…" I paused for dramatic effect, sloppily unfolded the notebook paper Aki had handed me. "We have four male winners, all placing bets of 35 dollars on Team Three and…" I almost choked on air and went into cardiac arrest, but I covered it up pretty nicely and regained my voice. "There are six female winners who all placed bets of fifty dollars for a kiss from Inuyasha!" I shouted into the microphone and smiled to make it sound like I was truly excited, but on the inside… I felt like Inuyasha, whose entire face had gone pale.

I went on to read off the names of the winners and they all came running towards where I stood—Bank was greatly disappointed in the fact that, even though he bet on the winning team, he didn't bet enough money to win a kiss—but I was in a state of shock as I did it and I couldn't remember any of the names I read off.

Six girls. Six kisses. That is eighteen seconds of watching Inuyasha kiss somebody who's not me. And really, fifty dollars? What the hell? I know the paper made three hundred dollars just from those six girls, but how desperate do you have to be to lay that much money down on one kiss?

I glowered at the girls as they lined up, giggling about their all too soon kiss with Inuyasha and I instantly resented the fact that they weren't ugly. I guess this is just my punishment for prostituting Inuyasha; now I have to watch the product of my desire to keep the newspaper going unfold in front of me.

We went through the guys first, Ms. Kido planting an innocent kiss on each of the boys' cheek, thanking them for helping the paper and smiling at each of them. One of the winners—a short red head that looked like a freshmen—actually tried to turn his head at the last second, but Ms. Kido has great instincts and she moved away before he had a chance to kiss her on the lips. She smiled well naturedly though and still kissed him on the cheek, finishing up with all the boys.

Now it was Inuyasha's turn. Joy.

I wanted to put a giant padlock on Inuyasha's lips and ban him from kissing anybody or punch him for agreeing to help out the paper or slap myself a thousand times for giving these girls permission to put their lips on his, but the damage was done and I was regretting this all too late.

I gave a hesitant smile to Inuyasha over my shoulder before turning around to face the line of girls in front of me. Why do I do the stupid things I do?

"So, I guess we move on to Inuyasha now." I was reluctant and my stomach was churning, but I made a promise and I have to keep to it. I turned to the first girl in line. She had jet black hair tied into two braids, dark brown eyes, and a few freckles dotted her cheeks. She seemed innocent, but she was still really pretty. Damnit. "Okay, I guess you're first."

"Okay then." The girl stood still though and looked at me expectantly.

"What?" I asked. "I said you could k—start." It was really hard to give this chick permission to kiss Inuyasha.

"Can you move out of the way?" The way she asked me—all giggly and cutesy—made me want to punch her in the face. I glanced behind me, laughing awkwardly when I noticed that I really _was_ still standing between her and Inuyasha, almost like a bodyguard.

"Oh, sorry." I moved out of the way and it took a lot more effort than I'll admit. "Alright, you can start in just—" The girl dove in for the kiss before I could even finish my sentence, grabbing Inuyasha's face to keep him still and devouring his mouth.

Ha! So much for being innocent!

"Hey!" I shouted, but the crowd was eating it up and laughing/cheering, and my voice was lost in the din. Inuyasha's eyes were wide as he tried to pull her off, but she must have had a vise grip on his face because it looked like she had dug her nails into his skin.

"Your three seconds are up!" I shouted yanking on the back of her shirt, trying vainly to rip her off Inuyasha, but she decided being a leech was really cool. "You are violating the rules! I can have you banned for this!" I couldn't, but it felt nice to be able to wave my fake authority around as a bluff.

A second later, Raiden stepped in and pulled her off of Inuyasha and I immediately moved in front of him again, crossing my arms and shooting the evil eye to everyone in the room. It's now my official goal to protect him from anymore sudden attacks. Inuyasha didn't do anything but wipe his mouth off with the back of his hand. I gaped down at the stopwatch; six seconds! This stupid chick kissed _my man_ for six seconds and ten milliseconds! It doesn't sound like a long time, but it sure as hell felt like an eternity.

"Are you alright?" I asked him, turning my head over my shoulder. He continued wiping his mouth off while the crowd cracked up and Raiden dragged soon-to-be-named-then-placed-on-my-hate-list girl away from us.

"I think she had on root beer flavored lip gloss," Inuyasha mumbled, scowling. "I hate root beer."

"That's too bad." He seemed to regain his composure now. "Any tongue?"

Inuyasha frowned. "Nah, I managed to keep it away."

I could feel my blood boiling. That bitch. It may not be official yet or even really in the making, but Inuyasha is mine, Damnit! _Mine._

To make this clear I looked the next girl dead in the eye. "You get three seconds, got it?" she nodded her head. "And this is closed mouth, alright? Don't go getting any ideas because I will throw you in the pool!" I popped my head out to the other four girls in line. "Keep it G-rated, people!"

When it was all over—everything went smoothly after my threat to throw people in chlorinated water— Inuyasha went to wash his mouth out so I leaned against the wall by the door of the men's locker room, continuing my role as his bodyguard. It doesn't seem like it could happen, but after witnessing a kiss gone wrong, I'm not taking any chances of leaving him alone. No girl will sneak into the locker room without getting past me first! I let some tension out of my shoulders as Aki jogged up to me.

"So, do you think the picture of the girl on attack mode would make better news or," Aki showed me the next ten pictures in his camera, "you on the defense, looking like you're ready to kill somebody?"

The pictures ranged from me trying to yank the girl off of Inuyasha, looking more feral than I could ever imagine, to me threatening the rest of the girls in line, and then he even got a picture of me glaring at each girl as they stepped up, standing between them and Inuyasha with my arms crossed.

I looked very possessive. Way too possessive for someone who's not even dating him.

I shoved the camera back at Aki. "Delete them all."

-x-

_In my defense, as Inuyasha's pimp it was my job to protect him from overzealous, crazy chicks (like her) who have problems with following the rules._

**_-x-_**

**My original plan was to have the entire Odd Ball Olympics week done in one chapter, but then I actually started writing and realized how long this first day was so I've decided to chop the week up into four chapters total. And then you'll have the carnival chapter which, now that I think about it, is kind of mostly written. And I got my laptop back after two weeks of it being with Geek Squad so I can go back to waking up in the middle of the night and typing if I feel like it (I usually watch a movie or read when that happens though, but I'm trying to change!)**

**I also started a new story, _Thanks to You, _and it's being told in snippets and it updates every Monday, so if you want to check that out that would be cool. Oh, and I did finish the latest Normal chapter and it just has to go through editing. **

**Alright, please review because it makes me HAPPY!**

**_~Kimiko888~_**

**Despite popular belief, I do have a life and it sometimes gets in the way of super fun things like… EDITING! Anyway, this chapter was hell to edit, but fun to read so I hope you guys enjoy it!**

**~hanmajoerin**


	13. Trike Race

**Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha**

**Well, I think last week or two weeks ago, I got a review, asking when Walking Tightropes was going to be updated and so I decided to actually get some work on this story done. I wasn't actually supposed to finish this chapter today, but I did so… Yeah. New chapter. Enjoy!**

**Walking Tightropes**

**Chapter 13: Trike Race**

_A while back, after hearing a news report about the increase of rape in our area, Grandpa gave me a can of pepper spray—he tried to give me a taser, but Mom talked him into being a bit more rational. This morning I threw that pepper spray into my purse before walking out the door, deciding I should take some necessary precautions. You never know what girl is going to try to attack Inuyasha next._

_"Pepper spray?" Sango asked me while she rummaged through my purse during lunch, looking for a mint. "Really?"_

_"Girls are really crazy these days." I looked at Inuyasha and he gaped at me. "You really need to start protecting yourself."_

_"Should I be worried about her?" Inuyasha asked Miroku and he just shrugged._

_"This is Kagome showing she cares."_

-x-

It was starting to get hard to watch Inuyasha kiss other girls.

Today, Tuesday, I wasn't required to participate in the event or help with supplies and organization or even man the betting polls so I decided to take full advantage of the opportunity and enjoy the Trike Race.

"Next!"

I pulled the hat I borrowed from Miroku further down my head as I stepped up to betting poll, hiding my face. If one of Sango's "sources" found out I was betting to win a kiss from Inuyasha, Sango would never let me live it down. There are already too many moments Sango won't let me live down and I don't want to chance adding this to her list.

I kept my head ducked as I slid the twenty-five dollars I had very painfully taken out of my wallet across the counter. "Twenty-five dollars to Jineji losing." As nice and shy as he is, Jineiji is too big to ever win this race. "And"—it was hard to pull out the other twenty-five bucks—"another Twenty-five to Shippo for the win."

"Higurashi?"

I snapped my head up and Kikyo and I stared at each other for what felt like forever.

"You didn't see me here."

"Really?" A smug grin grew across Kikyo's face as she fanned herself with the money I had handed her. "Because fifty bucks says I did." Kikyo thumbed through the five dollar bills I forked over, raising her brows. "You must be really desperate for that kiss."

"I am not!" I shouted, but then I realized my presence here was supposed to be a secret. "It's not like I spent fifty dollars on one bet," I mumbled, but Kikyo didn't look very convinced. "I'm contributing to the paper."

"Excuses, excuses."

"You just didn't see me here, okay?"

"A hundred bucks says I didn't see you here."

"What?" I looked at Kikyo in disbelief. "I'm not going to _pay _you to lie for me. You're already rich!"

"Seventy-five?"

"No."

"_Fifty…"_

"Kikyo!" I snapped. I looked around and noticed a few people staring at me and I tugged the hat down lower on my head. "_I'm not paying you_," I bit out through gritted teeth.

"Fine by me," she shrugged, filling out my name on the betting sheet. "It's just that I know a certain best friend of yours is going to have a field day over this news." I groaned and Kikyo smirked at me. Of course Kikyo was in charge of the betting polls today. _Of course_.

"You're off cleaning duty for the carnival."

She grinned smugly. "Pleasure doing business with you."

"Yeah, whatever." I took the small sheet of paper Kikyo handed me, proof that I actually placed the bet, and headed off before Kikyo could pimp me out of anymore deals. Damnit, I just _had _to have that memory lapse; she'll be able to hold this over my head for the rest of my life.

"Hey Kagome," Bank greeted me when I finally made it to the top of the bleachers where Bank, Inuyasha, Miroku and Ayame sat (Sango was at work.) "Why do you look so pissy?"

"Because I just got swindled by the devil," I grumbled, sitting in the seat Inuyasha had saved for me next to him.

"Oh." Bank shared a look with Miroku who just shrugged. "Was it Sango?"

"No," I snapped.

"Is it that time of the month?"

_"No."_

"Okay then… Hey, can I borrow a dollar?" Bank asked, holding out his hand as if I had already said yes. "I want to buy some candy."

"Don't you have a job?" I was already digging into my pocket though, pulling out a five dollar bill. "I feel like Sango and I are always giving you money."

"Friends give friends money, Kagome," he reminded me. "Besides, I am underpaid and saving for a better car. I think that Patricia is on her last leg."

I rolled my eyes and handed Bank the money. "That's such a horrible name for a car."

"It's better than Triple G."

"Hey," Inuyasha joined the conversation, "I didn't name it that."

"You didn't name your car at all." Bank shook his head and clucked his tongue. "No love for that poor thing. Such a shame."

"Get me a Twix," I ordered Bank as he got up to leave. "And bring back my change!" Bank was notorious for keeping change. Once I gave him a twenty to buy me a soda that only cost two dollars and he gave me back five dollars, under the impression that I would be too stupid to notice.

"Hey Kagome, are you done with my hat now?" Miroku asked once Bank had left, leaning his head forward between me and Inuyasha (he and Ayame sat on the row behind us). "That's kind of a collector's item and I would really like it back before you have a chance to ruin it."

"It's good to know you have so much faith in me." Miroku gave me a sheepish grin in reply. "Yeah, I'm done." I took the cap off and placed it over Miroku's head. He smirked at me and leaned against the back of the bleachers just as the contestants walked out onto the track.

"Why were you using Miroku's hat?" Inuyasha asked me.

"Oh, I was… It was, um…" I scratched the back of my head, trying to think of a valid and believable excuse. I could have used that Twix right now; I needed a moment to think this over. "It was for a drama skit."

"You don't have Drama," Ayame reminded me, grinning. Why can't I have friends who just play along with my cover stories? Really, it would be helpful every now and then.

"No… But I was an extra in a friend's skit and I needed a hat because I was a… thug."

Inuyasha stared at me. "You're the worst liar I've ever met."

"Yeah, Kagome," Miroku agreed, "you suck. What did you really need the hat for?"

"I robbed a bank and needed to stay confidential."

Inuyasha laughed. "No, seriously."

"I played a prank on Mr. Khan and the hat helped hide my face. Did you miss him storming around the school red faced after the final bell?"

"I heard that was because Kikyo pissed him off in front of your entire class," Ayame said and I glared at her. She smiled back.

"I did something that required confidentiality," I said, telling the truth. They couldn't argue with me over this. "Confidentiality means I can't tell anyone."

Inuyasha, Miroku, and Ayame all looked at each other. "We'll force it out of you later," Ayame promised and I had serious doubts about it. They would have to do a hell of a lot to ever get me to admit that I just handed over fifty dollars in hopes of being able to kiss Inuyasha. _Nothing_ is worth the price of that embarrassment.

"Good afternoon, Shikon High!" Aki's voice boomed, echoing from the speakers that surrounded all of the students on the bleachers. His voice caught people's attention and everyone started quieting down, turning their gaze to the field as small tricycles were rolled out on to the track. "Today, the Shikon Times brings to you… The Trike Race!" The crowd erupted in cheering and Inuyasha patted me on the back as some sort of congratulations for my success. After just one day, we really seemed to gain the support of the school.

Aki explained the rules of the Trike race—first one around the track three times wins—while Bank came running up the bleachers with his candy in hand. He sat down next to me and handed me my Twix before starting to unwrap his Snickers bar.

"My change?"

"Come on, Kagome, we're _best _friends." I held my hand out and Bank groaned but returned my three dollars. "Nobody likes stingy girls. Right, Inuyasha?"

"Wrong," he disagreed and Miroku laughed at Bank's fallen face. Ayame nudged me repeatedly in the back with her knee, as if I didn't already get the hint. I'm not _that _oblivious.

"Alright, so the top bidders for who comes in first and who comes in last will win a kiss from either Ms. Kido or Inuyasha," Aki summarized. I fingered the confirmation ticket in my jacket pocket, hoping, for once, luck would actually be on my side. "And, for future reference, boys are not allowed to place a bet to win a kiss from Inuyasha." Inuyasha's face went blank and paled. "We don't hold anything against you for your sexual preferences, but InuYasha is not comfortable with kissing guys. Sorry."

Inuyasha's face was distorted by disgust and horror. "That is so…" He trailed off, burying his face in his hands and shaking his head.

"You should be honored," I assured him, wrapping my arm around his shoulders. "This just means your sexiness is not confined to one gender. You're admired by _all."_

"Shut up, Kagome." He lifted his head though and looked at me, a small grin playing on his lips. "You think I'm sexy?"

"No," I intoned, my face flat. "I used you as a ploy to gain more attention for the Odd Ball Olympics because I thought you were the ugliest creature to have ever walked the face of the planet."

"Your sarcasm is not appreciated."

"I'll count down from three and then the contestants will start the race. Three, two, one, and then go, alright?" The contestants on the track nodded their heads at Aki's instructions. "Three…" Aki started the countdown. "Two… One… Go!"

Unlike most races, no one took the immediate lead. Everyone struggled with getting their long legs to pedal tiny tricycles and halfway through the first lap, the race was more like a turtle race than the high energy bike race I pictured in my mind. With the lack of intensity, the crowd gave up on cheering/being excited and retreated to their individual conversations. Now I was worried more about keeping the crowd's interest than the bets I had placed; the lack of energy and enthusiasm of today could ruin student turn out for the rest of the events.

"Well, this is boring," Bank complained, yawning. "We'll be here for hours at this pace."

"Shut up, Bank."

"Friends tell friends the truth, Kagome," he told me and I slapped his arm. "I understand your anger. The truth is hard to take sometimes. Can I have another dollar for some more food? If I'm going to be here all day I'm going to need nourishment."

"I'm gonna…"

I almost had Bank begging for mercy then Souten distracted me, entering the second lap. She finally seemed to get the hang of pedaling a tricycle and Shippo caught on to her technique a second later and the train of realization seemed to ripple throughout the rest of the group and the race picked up and the crowd began cheering again—_Thank God._

"Go, Shippo!" I shouted, releasing Bank from the full nelson I managed to get him in. "Come on, go _faster."_

"You're very enthusiastic," Miroku said. "Did you place a bet or something?"

"No!" I shouted too quickly to think of a proper defense. "I—"

"You have to cheer for Shippo over Souten," Bank explained, saving me from having to think of an excuse. "Souten's brothers work with the _Morning Ribbet. _That's unacceptable."

"So much for the newspaper staff being a close knit family," Ayame mumbled and Miroku nodded his head in agreement.

"We support each other all the time," I argued. "But if I'm cheering for Souten or Shipp to win in a race…"

"That's cruel."

"It's life."

Going into the final lap, the crowd was fully immersed in the race again and my encouragement for Shippo to go faster was lost in the sea of other people cheering on the staff members they placed bets on. I didn't have to worry about Jineji disappointing me (he face planted off his trike three times in the first lap) so I focused all my energy in hoping that Shippo would cross the finish line before Souten because, at that moment, they were tied.

"Souten and Shippo are still neck to neck as they round the third turn of the final lap," Aki announced and I crossed my fingers and began whispering prayers up to heaven for Shippo to win this. "Shippo seems to be gaining speed as they approach the final turn… Souten is right on his tail—literally."—I stopped my prayers long enough to groan at the corniness of Aki's pun—"Shippo takes a sharp turn and—NO! Shippo is out of the race! He took the turn too fast and spiraled out of control and is now just a heap in the grass! That means, the winner is…" Aki waited for Souten to ride through the long strip of tissue paper Kikyo and Hitomi were holding across the width of the track as a sort of ribbon, "Souten! Ladies and gentleman, Souten claims first place!"

_Dammit._

The race carried on as the remaining staff members crossed the finish line (Shippo picked himself up in time to claim second place). After Jineji fell off his bike again halfway through his final lap we decided to stop since he was obviously in last place. Waiting for him to finish would have taken another ten minutes and nobody wanted to wait that long.

"We're going to sort out the winners of the bets and then announce who will be getting those kisses," Aki spoke through the speakers as Souten did a victory dance. "Would Inuyasha please come down to the field to wait?"

"Really?" Inuyasha grumbled under his breath as he stood up and wiped nonexistent dirt off the back of his jeans. "I hate you for this, Kagome. Just in case I haven't told you yet."

"You told me that about five times when we were on the phone last night." Inuyasha rolled his eyes at me as he started making his way down our row. "Wait!" I rummaged around in my bag before pulling out my pepper spray. Inuyasha looked at me like I was crazy. "It might actually come in handy."

"I think you scared everyone into good behavior yesterday," Inuyasha said, rejecting my form of defense.

"There's not exactly a pool to throw them into today."

"I think it was the look on your face that scared them more than the threat of getting thrown into a pool." I shrugged and Inuyasha shook his head, making his way down the bleachers again. "I'll see you later, Kagome, okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, sure. No problem."

"Could you two have flirted anymore?" Bank complained once Inuyasha was out of earshot. "Another second of your goo-goo eyes and I _might _have thrown up."

"We weren't flirting," I lied "It's called being friends. Look it up sometime."

"I am a _great _friend. Right, Ayame?" Bank looked back at her for confirmation, but she was too busy texting to pay us any attention.

"You could do better," Miroku answered for Ayame. "Your bluntness is kind of harsh sometimes."

"But that's part of his charm," I admitted and Bank grinned at me, tossing his arm over my shoulders. "You have to admit, he's not Bank if he's not tactless."

"True."

"Alright, now seriously, Kagome," Bank started, changing the subject. "I'm going to ask you one more time: can I pleasehave some money for some more food? I'm _starving _here."

"Nobody likes broke guys, Bank. Right, Ayame?"

"Right." She put her phone away to join the conversation. "Kouga can tell you _all _about it."

We spent the next ten minutes taking turns playing Temple Run on Miroku's phone and then Kikyo finally walked to the center of the field with the megaphone and results from the polls in her hands. I stopped playing in the middle of my run, letting my little adventure man trip over a tree trunk and get caught by the monkeys.

"You're more into this than you were yesterday," Bank observed, taking the phone from me for his turn.

"Of course I am. I have to see what crazy girl is going to try to attack Inuyasha today. I'll have to add her to my hit list."

Miroku patted my head. "We'll take you to a shrink right after this. I promise."

"Shut up."

Just like yesterday, the boys were given their prize first—Ms. Kido only had to kiss the cheeks of five boys. The boys each bet forty dollars, today (a large increase from yesterday) and I was starting to worry about how much the obsessed girls at this school were going to throw down for Inuyasha. Hopefully less than twenty-five bucks.

"On to the girls," Kikyo spoke into the megaphone. "First we'll do the girls with the highest bids on Souten before moving on to Jineji. Alright?" Kikyo didn't bother to check the crowd's response. "Good."

I silently prayed that few girls won and that if they weren't ugly, they would at least look ridiculously average—I've been praying a lot since all of this started. I feel like that means something…

There were only two winners, both placing fifty dollar bets again, and I felt my chances of winning slip through my fingers. How do these people have so much _money? _Yeah, it's all going to the paper, but really_? _That's _a lot_ for onekiss.

"And for the winners of those who bet on Jineji coming in last," Kikyo started and I pressed my hands together in prayer and brought them up to my lips. _Please God, please. Just be nice to me this once and let me win. Please. _"Actually, there is only one winner for this category since she outbid everyone else." I crossed my fingers. _Please God, help me, because it's only with your grace that I have the possibility to outbid everyone else with twenty-five dollars. Please, help me out here._

"Kagome," Bank tried to break into my prayers. "What the hell are you doing?"

"The winner of Inuyasha's last kiss for the day is…"

Bank leaned in closer to me. "Are you… Are you _praying?_"

_Please, _I begged harder. _Please let me win this. _I wanted to hear my name called and so I could walk down the bleachers like a princess and then gracefully walk onto the field. I wanted to see Inuyasha's face when he heard that I had actually put money down for him because I liked him that much. I wanted to see his face when he realized how… _desperate I am to _pay _for a kiss. _

What the hell happened to me! I was just making fun of these girls yesterday; about how they reeked of desperation and how meaningless their little three second kiss was to Inuyasha and now _I'm one of them. _I went crush crazy for two seconds too long and now Inuyasha and possibly the whole school can call me desperate. Fuck. If the whole school finds out about this, the number of times I'll hear "slut" or "whore" would be…

_Please God, don't let me win. Please don't let me win, please don't let me win. If I lose this I will be the _happiest _person in the _world. _I swear to you, I will be so grateful if I just lose._

"Kikyo doesn't look too happy about the winner," Ayame said, squinting down at Kikyo's figure on the field.

_Thank you, _I thanked God. If I had been the winner, Kikyo would've been laughing her ass off.

"Your winner is Kudo Yura with sixty dollars," Kikyo grumbled into the megaphone with absolutely no enthusiasm. "Congrats to that bitch."

Yura walked down the bleachers and to the field, completely unfazed by Kikyo and she winked at Inuyasha and he forced a smile back.

_Really? _I looked up at the sky and knew God was rolling around up there, pointing and laughing at me. _Why must you test me like this? _

Anyone, seriously, _anyone _but Yura would have been fine. It would have been perfectly fine. But no, fate is such a fucking bitch—I get this crap thrown in my face all the time. I mean, Yura? _YURA! Why? _She is my arch nemesis, the devil! Fuck the _Morning Ribbet, _fuck Yura! Life sucks!

And to have to watch her _kiss_ Inuyasha and know—though it would have been extremely embarrassing—that _could _have been _me_. Really, that's just—bleh! SHOOT MY BRAINS OUT!

_So much for being happy and grateful._

"Um, Kagome," Ayame called out to me, bringing me out of my internal ranting. "Are you okay?"

"You look constipated," Bank told me.

I glared down at the field where the three girls were lining up to kiss Inuyasha, Yura the last in line. I had approximately six seconds to get the hell out of here before permanent scarring could be burned into my retinas.

"I'm going to go." I grabbed my bag and hoisted it over my shoulder. "I'll see you all tomorrow."

"What, you don't want to see Inuyasha kiss Yura?" I purposefully stomped on Bank's foot as I walked by him. "Ow! It was a joke!"

"Get a better sense of humor."

"What are we supposed to tell him when he comes back looking for you?" Miroku asked me. "You promised to see him later."

"Tell him I couldn't be in his presence so soon after he kissed the devil's spawn," I called back over my shoulder. "I have to go to work anyways."

-x-

I slammed open the door to Shoe Carnival and stalked over to the counter, shoving my bag under the sale's counter with unnecessary force. When I stood up, Erin was staring at me.

"You're twenty minutes late, but considering the forceful entrance, I'm won't even bother asking what went wrong today. And I won't further damper your mood by telling you about the complete disappointment of trivia hour so far." Erin leaned in and whispered to me anyways. "Nobody knows who discovered the electron."

"Inuyasha kissed Yura," I hissed. She stared at me blankly. "Yura, Erin, Yura! The bitchy anchorwoman who I told off two weeks ago; the whole reason I had to get up at five in the morning to slap posters around the school every day last week!"

"Oh…" Erin nodded her head slowly. "That Yura."

"Yes, _that_ Yura." I groaned and rested my head against my register. "She put sixty dollars down on a bet and won a kiss from Inuyasha. I mean, who places that much money down for Inuyasha? It's _Inuyasha_."

"Yeah, he's the same _Inuyasha_ you're totally in love with."

I lifted my head and frowned at Erin. "I don't love him."

"You know what I mean."

I sighed and let my head fall on my register again. "Yura is such a bitch. And Inuyasha is a man-whore."

"You volunteered him to kiss all those girls."

"Do me a solid and _don't _remind me of that." Erin was silent and I took that as a sign of her agreement. "You know, God really doesn't like me. I feel like it's something I might have done in one of my past lives."

"Or maybe something you did in this life." I raised my head again and lifted one brow at Erin. "Did you eat all your vegetables as a child?"

"The lima beans were just so nasty." We both laughed and I willed myself to get over my self-pity. I could at least wait until I got home to revel in the idiocy and unfairness that was put into play today. No need to bombard Erin with my issues that were primarily self-inflicted. "How was your—oh my god."

"What?" Erin jerked her head around and searched for the problem. "What is it?"

"Your hair," I answered, pointing to her long blonde hair. "It's in a braid."

Erin glanced down at her braid then back up at me, as if I was crazy. "Yeah…"

"Erin." I stared into her eyes. "Your hair is _always _in a bun."

"Yeah, well, I got creative this morning. Besides, I have too much hair to keep trying to craft into the perfect messy bun." Erin stopped fiddling with her braid and glared at me. "Stop looking at me like that! I'm not a monster."

"You just look different."

"It's a braid, Kagome. I don't look _that _different."

"I don't think you understand how often you wear your hair in a bun. The sudden change is shocking."

Erin patted my shoulder. "Your melodramatics is one of the things I love about you, Kags. You never cease to amuse me."

"It is my duty to humor you." Erin smiled at a customer who walked in the door and I waved and welcomed them to Shoe Carnival, exercising my manners—maybe it will bring about some good karma. "Hey, you want to do something tonight?"

"Besides hang out in Ginta and Hakkaku's apartment and attempt to do my homework?" Erin grabbed my shoulders and looked up into my eyes with desperation. "Please save me from that misery."

"You still haven't been home?" I asked her. It had been about a week since Erin and her Mom got in their last fight.

"I've been home," Erin shrugged. "I just haven't been spending the night. Mom's got a new boyfriend who I'm really not in the mood to meet."

"Oh," I nodded, understanding. Not all of Ms. Chiba's boyfriends were bad, but there were a few sadistic ones in the batch and Erin typically avoided meeting all boyfriends until she was forced to. "So, you want to hang out with me then, right?"

Erin frowned at me. "Are we going to spend the whole night at the Bean Café? Inuyasha's great, but I really don't want to eat pie while the two of you flirt."

"No, I'm not going there tonight," I assured her, shaking my head. "I don't want to talk to Inuyasha right now."

"Because he kissed the awful girl because you signed him up to kiss random girls?" My face went flat. "Sorry, I won't mention it again."

"At least give me a few hours of selfish pitying without having to realize how the majority of this is my own fault."

"I promise," Erin swore. She held up two fingers. "Scouts honor."

"You're not even a scout."

"You get the point."

-x-

I had to stay twenty minutes after my shift since I came in twenty minutes late—T.J forces us to make up all the time that's missed—but as soon as T.J finished his lecture about being punctual and blah, blah, blah, Erin and I got in the car and hit the road.

"You know, I feel like you're always out at night," Erin said as I drove through a green light. "Do you not have any homework? Doesn't Mama H worry about you?"

"My mom calls me every minute after ten if I'm not home on a school night," I answered. "And copying homework is what friends are for."

Erin shook her head. "I'd copy off Hakkaku if I could, but I can't. If only he wasn't an idiot…" I hummed in agreement as I made a sharp left. "Where are we going, Kagome? Not many fun spots exist out here."

"You'll see when we get there," I told her. "We'll be there in, like, two seconds."

In what was actually another five minutes, I pulled into the parking lot of my designated location and cut the engine. "Alright, we're here."

Erin stared at the building in front of us, dumbstruck. "Are you serious?"

"Yes, I'm serious." I got out of the car and slammed the door shut, beckoning my short friend to hurry up and do the same. "I wasn't kidding when I said I thought God hated me. I need to try to get back in his good graces. I need the karma points."

"I don't think you get in God's good graces by purposely doing a good thing in order to gain karma points. It means you're looking for a reward instead of doing it because you're genuinely pious."

"It can't hurt to try, right?"

"Are churches even open this late?" I tugged on the door handle and the large wooden door opened for me.

I turned back to Erin and smiled. "Looks like it."

"What exactly are you going to pray for?"

"Good health, the prosperous life of my friends and family, Dad," I shrugged. "And beg for forgiveness for anything I may have done in a past or present life. And for some luck with Inuyasha. Considering I've never prayed over any of my other relationships, this might mean something."

"I think you're here for all the wrong reasons."

"I'm here because I need God's help."

_I'm only gonna break, break ya, break, break ya heart  
I'm only gonna break—_

I fumbled with my bag to get to my phone. The caller ID read Inuyasha and I ignored his call. When I looked up from the screen, Erin was staring at me in disbelief.

"Really?"

"You see? This is exactly why I'm here." I dropped my phone back into my purse and walked further into the church. "The fact that I still have that as my ringtone is horrible."

"Good God, Kagome."

My phone beeped and I fished it out of my purse again to read the text Inuyasha sent me.

_Did you seriously just ignore me?_

I silenced my phone and shoved it back in my bag. Talking to Inuyasha before earning some karma points = bad idea. "Okay, Erin," I said to her enthusiastically (I was trying to be the enthusiast since Erin still wasn't buying into my idea). "Let's do this."

I sat in a pew with my hands clasped together and prayed.

I prayed more than I thought I would. I spent a long time praying for Mom and Souta and Gramps, hoping that Gramps' health wouldn't fail him; that Souta would do great in school and be extremely successful; and that Mom wouldn't suddenly fall into a depression and go crazy and end up like Erin's Mom. I prayed for Erin the longest, I think. I prayed for all my friends and I prayed for Dad, hoping that he was having a good time up there in heaven. I prayed for Yaten because he was like a brother to me. I missed him a lot.

I prayed for myself, of course, since I am a somewhat self-conceited person and the whole reason I was here was to get some legitimate help from above. I prayed for better luck with relationships, better grades in school, and more confidence for myself when facing all my high school critics. I also prayed for some luck in tomorrow's Odd Ball Olympics— specifically, I prayed that nobody would win a kiss from Inuyasha.

"Okay, I'm done." I looked over at Erin who was sitting beside me. She wasn't asleep like I assumed and was actually finishing up her own prayers. Her eyes opened and she turned towards me after she finished. "Praying for a recording contract for the band?" I guessed.

Erin smiled at me. "What else would I be doing?"

We walked back to the car and got in. Before I turned the car on, I pulled out my phone to text Inuyasha back. Now that I scored myself a few karma points, I was in the safe zone.

_Sorry, _I typed. _I was out w/Erin._

Inuyasha replied a second later.

_It's alright. Yura stopped by w/some Morning Ribbet ppl. Still hate Sango for writing that column about me. I'll talk to you tomorrow. Night._

Apparently, I received the wrong kind of karma.

-x-

_The lesson I learned today: God hates me. _

_Also, I probably shouldn't drive when I'm not in the best of moods; I scared Erin to death with how sharp my turns were and how far over the speed limit I was driving._

-x-

**An update, yay! If you're wondering about Yaten he will be explained. Eventually. It occurred to me earlier that in a little over a month I'll have to go back to school so I should probably really try pushing some more updates out before I get weighed down again. Please review! Reviews are always valued.**

**~Kimiko888~**

**_What's this? WALKING TIGHTROPES? WHERE HAVE YOU GONE? Even though it feels like a super epic long time since we've updated (it has been), Kimiko and I have been planning so much for this story, it doesn't feel like it's been so long for us. _**

**_~hanmajoerin_**


	14. Sabotage

_**Um… I apologize for the long wait, but first semester of senior year is a lot of work which is the main excuse I'm going to run with. Good news though, all my college applications are done. Kind of… (A few supplements left. Bleh.) But more time will be opened to updating! I'm working on NoRMal now so there should be an update for that soon. Hopefully.**_

**Walking Tightropes**

**Chapter 14: Sabotage**

_The fact of the matter is that sometimes, if you really want to win, you have to play dirty. That's just life._

-x-

Monday and Tuesday were absolute disasters— InuYasha gave out so many kisses that I was beginning to lose my mind—so I decided there was only one way to hold onto my sanity: Sabotage. Since I was in charge of the betting polls today, sabotage should come easily.

I spent my entire day mentally developing a plan on how to prevent anyone else from kissing Inuyasha. I was in the middle of history when the light bulb finally went off and it was so simple, I almost felt stupid for not thinking about it in the first place. All I had to do was keep track of the highest female bidder and right before the event started, outbid each of them in every category. And I would bid under a fake name this time so I wouldn't have to worry about the embarrassment and then I'd pretend the girl left before collecting her prize. I even thought of the line I would use to tease Inuyasha: "I guess you're not as hot as you thought. That girl _ran away _from you."

It was fool proof, emphasis on _was._

When I sat down and started collecting bets, I realized how much I miscalculated the desperation of the girls at this school. The bets they placed were ridiculously high.

There were three parts to the Cookies n' Cream event: eating contest, individual race, and then team races. The eating contest was simple: see who could eat the most Oreos in two minutes. The individual race was to see who could eat ten Oreos first the proper way (licking off the cream first, then dunking the cookie in milk, and then drinking all the milk). The team races were basically the same, but with columnists vs. reporters and editors vs. photographers. That was a total of four categories I had to outbid girls in and I couldn't do that. Hell, I couldn't outbid even _one _girl.

The lowest of all the highest bets placed was forty-five dollars.

Needless to say, I wasn't very happy with Wednesday's results either. The girls must have teamed up today because there were a lot of three-way ties.

After the event ended, I tried to haul ass out of the school before Inuyasha had a chance to run into me. It would have been extremely hard to not act insanely jealous. And I didn't want to have to explain my absence from Bean Café yesterday, either. We had managed to avoid the elephant in the room so far, but I had a feeling Inuyasha was about to burst and confront me—I could see it in his eyes. And, considering I didn't want to talk about placing a bet or my bad relationship with God, I kind of needed to go before Inuyasha managed to finish up with the _long_ line of girls he had to kiss today—AKA the main reason I didn't feel like pretending to be happy.

I was pulling out of my parking space when Bank jumped in front of my car and spread his arms out. "STOP!"

"_Shit!" _I slammed down on the breaks just in time to prevent Bank from turning into a pancake. I rolled my window down and stuck my head out, glaring at him. "Are you _trying _to get yourself killed?"

"It's Patricia," he said, ignoring my question and walking over to my car. "She won't start. Can you try giving her a jump?"

I looked down at the dashboard. Inuyasha would be out here in two, three minutes tops. "I don't have any cables with me."

"I have them in my trunk," Bank assured me, walking over to the passenger's side to get in. "I'll hook it up for you and everything. I just need you to rev your engine."

"I highly doubt your car is having issue with its—"

"_Her."_

"With _her _battery," I corrected myself, rolling my eyes. I drove a few rows down to where Bank had his busted car parked and slid into the parking space beside him. "I think you just have to face the fact Patricia is getting old," I told him as I got out of my car to open the hood. "Look at it, Bank. The paint is peeling!"

"You're still beautiful," Bank cooed, patting Patricia's trunk before opening it to retrieve the jump cables and I just sighed. Bankotsu and his Patricia.

We tried jump-starting the battery five times, but nothing happened. My get away time deteriorated with every failed attempt; I wasn't about to let Bank suck up any more of that precious time.

"Come on, Bank," I started before he could suggest trying for a sixth time. "Let's just go. I'll drive you home."

"And _leave _her here?"

"Bank," I was losing my patience and Bank seemed to catch on, giving up on trying to win me over with his pout. "I don't want to wait here all day. I'm stopping by Smoothie King to talk to Sango and I'll even buy you a smoothie. Large," I added, hoping it would coax him into leaving with me before a certain somebody showed up. Besides, I had plenty of money to spend seeing as I didn't use it to outbid any of the girls in the polls today. "You can call Ginkotsu to pick Patricia up for you later. Maybe he can even fix her." Bank had six older brothers and Ginkotsu was the mechanic in the family.

Bank sighed and looked longingly at his car. "Maybe your car isn't strong enough. We should wait for Inuyasha to come out so we can try his truck. There's much more muscle behind that monster truck."

"We?" I shook my head and started unlatching the cables from my car's battery. "_You _can wait for Inuyasha and get a ride home from him if you want, but I'm leaving."

"What exactly happened between you two?" Bank asked, taking the cables off Patricia and carrying them back to his trunk and I took that as a sign he was riding with me to Smoothie King after all. "Last week you would have waited an hour after school just to hang out with Inuyasha."

"No, I wouldn't have."

"Thirty minutes then," Bank shrugged. He closed his trunk and locked the doors and then, _finally, _got in my car with me. "The point is, you're avoiding him and that's not cool." We buckled our seatbelts and I started the car, ready to pull out. "Is this because he's doing you a favor and kissing all those girls?" I grunted, but didn't actually verbalize my response. "That's not fair, Kags."

"Life's not fair," I grumbled and Bank clucked his tongue. "Don't you always tell me to stop pretending around people?"

"You usually don't listen to my advice."

"Well, I am now and I don't feel like pretending I'm not extremely jealous or annoyed by the fact Inuyasha kissed thirteen girls today." I put my car in drive and pulled out. "Sorry, but I'm not in the mood to just grin and bear it while they all line up and kiss him. And after all that trouble I went through…"

"What trouble?" Bank asked, looking genuinely interested as he fiddled with my radio. My face went blank as I stared ahead. Me and my big mouth. "Kagome…"

"I'll tell you later," I promised. "When we get to Smoothie King, that way I can tell you and Sango at the same time." No need to explain my embarrassment twicein one day.

Bank found a radio station that satisfied him and sat back in his seat. "Whatever you say," he shrugged. "Can I borrow your phone to call Ginkotsu? Mine died earlier today."

"It's in my bag," I answered, tilting my head towards the backseat where I had thrown my stuff. Bank fished my phone out and frowned down at the screen. "What?" I asked, glancing at him and then back to the road, careful not to hit any of my peers who were starting to flood the parking lot (meaning Cookies n' Cream was officially over).

"Inuyasha just sent you a text telling you not to leave yet." Bank looked at me expectantly. "Are you going to do the right thing and wait for him?"

Inuyasha was just stepping into the parking lot when I drove past him and towards the exit.

"The right thing," I told Bank, "is overrated."

-X-

"Start a tab, Sango," I ordered as I walked into Smoothie King which was surprisingly empty for only four in the afternoon. I walked up to the counter she was standing behind, working the register, and set my bag down before searching for my wallet.

"This is a smoothie shop, Kagome," Sango pointed out to me, "not a bar."

"I've got a lot to vent about," I told her, pulling a twenty out of my wallet. "Two large Caribbean Ways, please." Sango raised her brows at me and I rolled my eyes. "The other one is for Bank. He's just finishing a phone call. Can you give us your employee discount?"

"Nope," Sango shook her head, ringing up my total and taking my money.

"Stingy," I grumbled under my breath and Sango laughed. I turned to the girl who also wore the purple Smoothie King shirt and smiled at her. "Hey, Chaeryn."

Chaeryn was like Sango's own Erin, only way more mild mannered. She was a junior at East High and I'm pretty sure she was one of Sango's "sources" for other schools' gossip.

"Hi, Kagome."

"How's it going?"

"Good." She smiled at me briefly before looking past me, out the front windows. "You said Bankotsu was with you? I don't see his car."

Chaeryn had a very obvious crush on Bankotsu which was one of the main reasons I felt sorry for her. She must have suffered from some rare form of brain damage to be attracted to that dumbass. It was a shame that my friends completely took advantage of this sweet, innocent girl; Sango's using her as her mole and Bank taking advantage of her unrequited love for discounts on smoothies. My best friends were horrible and manipulative people.

"Yeah, Patty broke down so I'm giving him a ride home," I informed Chaeryn.

"It's _Patricia." _I turned around to see Bankotsu stalking into the store, glaring at me. "I'm offended by your lack of caring." Bankotsu crossed his arms over his chest and huffed. "Some friend you are."

"Is Ginkotsu going to pick it up for you?"

"Yeah. He says he'll try to fix her up, too." Bank leaned on to the counter and looked up at the menu that hung on the wall behind Sango and Chaeryn. "Can you add a caffeine charge to my smoothie?"

"It'll cost you extra," Sango told him and Bank looked at me expectantly. I grumbled under my breath but told Sango to just add it to my tab.

"Hi, Bankotsu," Chaeryn chirped, beaming up at him. "You, uh…You look very nice today." She blushed at her weak attempt at conversation.

"Thanks…" Bank forced himself to smile at her, carefully avoiding eye contact.

"Did you have a good day today?"

"My car did break down today, so, no," Bank shook his head. "Not the best day."

"Oh. Right. Duh." Chaeryn hit herself in the head and laughed awkwardly. "That was stupid…"

We all sat in an awkward silence for a few seconds before Sango finally spoke up, saving Chaeryn from trying to engage Bankotsu in another failed conversation.

"Do you have any more Korean bands to tell us about?" Sango asked Chaeryn and Bankotsu groaned. Chaeryn moved here from Korea three years ago and she successfully got me and Sango hooked on a few Korean boy bands, much to Bank's dismay.

"Chaeryn," he ordered, looking her in the eyes for once, dead serious. "Do _not _tell these two about any more bands. I cannot go through anymore of their obsessed phases. Bigbang was more than I could handle."

Chaeryn laughed lightly and tucked her short black hair behind her ears, biting her lip. "There's this one band, CN Blue," she ended up confessing after she threw the last of the ingredients in the blender and started it. Bank slammed his head on the counter. "I think you'll really like them."

"I'll check them out now," I said, pulling out my phone and opening the browser to search CN Blue.

"Hey, your shift is over," Sango told Chaeryn, pointing to the clock. On cue, a car pulled up in front of the shop and honked the horn. "And your mom is here."

"Your mom is still picking you up?" Bank asked her, raising a brow. "I thought you were old enough to drive now."

"I am, but my mom insists on picking me up." Chaeryn's face was bright red as she gathered her stuff. "Bye, Sango. Bye, Kagome." She looked at Bank and smiled extra wide. "Bye, Bankotsu."

"Bye," we all said in unison, waving to her as she left. When the door shut behind her, Bankotsu let out a long breath of relief.

"I don't know how long I can keep dodging her advances," he said, staring at us almost helplessly. "Smoothie discounts aren't worth it."

"Why don't you like her?" I asked Bank while Sango went to stop the blender and pour our smoothies. "She's really nice and pretty and she actually _likes _you. You're not going to meet another person like that in a million years."

"I don't want to date a girl who's obsessed with me."

"She's not obsessed with you," I argued, crossing my arms. "She just likes you a lot."

"That's obsessed," he mumbled under his breath and I hit his arm. "You can't get mad at me for not liking someone. She's not my type."

"I can get mad at you for using her for smoothie discounts and then shrugging her off when she tries to hold a conversation." Bank rolled his eyes and mumbled something under his breath and I hit him again. "What is your type, anyways?"

"He likes older woman," Sango reminded me, pushing our smoothies towards us. "Ms. Kido is his ideal woman." Bankotsu nodded proudly and I rolled my eyes. "If I remember correctly, you actually came in saying something about how you were going to vent?"

I frowned, taking a straw from Bank and jabbing it into my drink. "Inuyasha kissed thirteen girls today," I told her and her eyes widened. "_Thirteen _girls. That's a lot!"

"That's… thirty-nine seconds?"

"It's an eternity!" I shook my head and took a sip of my smoothie. "I don't know what I'm going to do, Sango," I sighed. "I can't take another day of this and _none _of my tricks are working."

"Tricks?" Sango's eyebrows disappeared beneath her bangs. "Please, do tell."

I contemplated lying for two seconds, but then Bank and Sango both gave me their speak-the truth-and-nothing-but-the-truth-so-help-me-God stares.

"I tried rigging the betting polls," I mumbled and Sango gasped while Bank busted out laughing.

"Are you serious?" Sango stared at me. "Kagome."

"I had to do _something _after he kissed Yura yesterday!" I exasperated and Bank just laughed harder. "What if he kissed somebody worse than that? I don't think I could take it."

"Who could be worse than Yura?"

"The crazy girl from Monday who tried to eat his face off," Bank answered for me and I nodded in agreement.

"I highly doubt that's happening again."

"You'd be surprised," Bank told her. "Inuyasha told me yesterday Yura tried shoving her tongue down his throat."

"In three seconds?"

I rested my head on the counter. "I can't take this anymore."

"Wait, wait, wait." I turned my head to the side to look up at Sango. "How did you try to rig the betting polls?"

"I was going to outbid everyone in all the categories under an alias and, obviously, I wouldn't show up so nobody would kiss Inuyasha. I just underestimated how much money people would put down on a bet…"

"Think about all the good it's doing the paper."

"Fuck the paper," I cursed. "I'm going to go insane."Bankotsu and Sango laughed at my misery and I lifted my head to glare at them. "You know, best friends are supposed to offer advice and _help _their best friends with their problems, not laugh."

"You should have talked to Kikyo then."

Kikyo already knew about my plans. Going to her and admitting that I tried rigging the polls would have made it even worse. Besides, she would try to blackmail me into giving her something else. Like my first born child.

"I need my _friends. _Please help me," I begged them (more Sango than Bank. Bank was infamous for giving bad advice). "My sanity is at stake here."

"I don't think you had any sanity to start with," Bank snorted, leaning in for another sip of his smoothie.

I snatched his cup away just as he was about to close his mouth around the straw. "Have fun finding a ride home."

Bank snatched his drink back. "Because you're an emotional mess due to your incapability to tell Inuyasha how you feel, I'll let that slide."

I lifted my hand to hit him on the head, but the bell over the door rang, signaling another customer, and I lowered my hand. We waited for Sango to serve the customer and for him to leave before resuming our conversation.

"What you need is a much more effective sabotage plan," Sango informed me.

"You're seriously going to encourage this?"

"You have to make girls not want to bet for a kiss at all so you don't have to worry about trying to outbid them." I nodded my head enthusiastically while Bank shook his. "How do you accomplish this? You spread a rumor."

"Like he's sick or something?"

"Exactly!" Sango clapped her hands. "It has to be something big, something nobody wants to get. Like herpes." Bank and I stared at her. "Okay, yeah, that's a bit over the top."

"A lot over the top," Bank corrected her.

"He has a cold, then."

"No," Sango shook her head. "That's still not big enough. You can still function when you have a cold. I got it!" Sango smiled widely at us and Bank leaned back a bit farther from the counter. "As of today, Inuyasha has the kissing disease." My brows furrowed and Sango rolled her eyes. "Mono, Kagome, Mono."

"Oh…" I nodded my head slowly. "Nobody wants to get Mono. You're out for a week at least." I frowned. "But how are we going to make it seem like Inuyasha has Mono?"

"Kagome," Sango placed a reassuring hand on my shoulder, "You can make people believe anything if you're convincing enough."

"Oh." I grinned at Sango. "I gotcha."

"So let me get this right." Bank pointed back and forth between Sango and me. "You're going to spread a rumor that Inuyasha has Mono because you can't just tell him you like him?"

Sango and I looked at each other and shrugged. "Yeah."

"And you won't even have to worry about your conscience," Sango promised me. "I'll do all the rumor spreading."

"There's something seriously wrong with you two."

"In fact…" She pulled her phone out of her pocket and started tapping away. "I'll start right now." She smiled at both of us. "Gotta love modern technology; information spreads ten thousand times faster."

"I love you, Sango," I gushed and she brushed her shoulders off like it was nothing. "You should say he got it from Yura," I added. "She wasn't here today so it could be considered credible."

Bank shook his head. "You're a horrible and manipulative person."

I draped my arm over his shoulder. "It's why we get along so well."

-X-

When I got to school the next morning it was clear that Sango had come through for me. When Inuyasha and I walked to Calculus, people gave InuYasha cautious stares instead of their normal gazes of appraisal. When he was getting his gym clothes out of his locker, he sneezed and the girl who had the locker next to his actually took a step back and looked at him like he was diseased. And, as far as she knew, he was.

"You'd tell me if I had something in my teeth, right?" Inuyasha asked, ducking his head as another girl walked by and stared at him on our way to lunch.

"Of course I would," I assured him. "What kind of friend do you take me for?" Inuyasha stopped and stared at me, suspicion in his gaze. "Ouch."

"I'm serious, Kagome. People are staring at me like I have the plague. Does my breath stink?" He made a move to breathe in my face but I pushed him away from me before he could.

"Why are you being so self-conscious?" I asked as we walked into the cafeteria. "People are probably just getting over you and your ego can't handle it so it's making these delusions that people are avoiding you."

"I'm currently a prize for your betting polls," Inuyasha pointed out as we made our way to the lunch table where Sango, Ayame and Bank were already sitting. "People don't suddenly get over me like that."

"Wow," I grumbled. "And here I thought you were going to argue with me about not being an egomaniac."

"I'm not an egomaniac."

"Your actions _clearly_ say otherwise."

Inuyasha rolled his eyes as he sat down next to Bank and I sat next to Sango, across from him. "Hey does my breath stink?"

"How am I supposed to—" Inuyasha breathed right in Bank's face and Bank immediately slapped Inuyasha. "What the hell man! That's so…."

"Job well done," I whispered to Sango and she gave me a head nod in return.

"That shit's gay," Bank grumbled, pushing Inuyasha again and he laughed. "Don't fuck around like that anymore. I'm serious."

"I was just joking," Inuyasha said, clapping Bank on the shoulder, but he flinched out of Inuyasha's reach. "Really?"

"I'm serious, man."

Inuyasha snorted and shook his head, opening his bag of chips. He turned to me and opened his mouth to say something, but something to the right of my head caught his eye.

"Did you see that?" he asked, slapping Bank's arm with one hand and pointing to a girl walking by, staring at him, with the other. "She looked at me like I was diseased! You saw that, right?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Bank's voice squeaked and I wanted to slap him. Because he's tactless and blunt, he makes the _worst liar_ _ever._

"Why are you talking like that?"

"What're you talking about?" Bank's voice cracked and he cleared his throat excessively, making Inuyasha raise his brow. "I'm talking the same way I always talk."

"You always sound like a prepubescent twelve year old?"

"Shut up, jackass," Bank grunted, shoving Inuyasha. "Did you watch the movie I gave you the other day?"

"Nah. Kagome ordered me to watch season two of The Office."

"How far are you?" Part of me actually cared, but the majority just wanted to change the subject before Bank really screwed up.

"First two minutes of the very first episode."

I gaped at him. "I gave it to you Monday!"

"I have a life, Kagome."

"The Office _is _life."

"I have band practice and work and homework and—"

"You copy Sango's homework."

"Yeah, her _calculus _homework. For my other classes—"

"You read cliff notes for lit instead of the actual book"—we finally started reading a real book: Jane Eyre—"and you copy off me for reading quizzes." Inuyasha's face fell flat. "And there isn't any homework for weight management or music theory."

"Well, work and band practice—"

"Inuyasha." I reached across the table and placed my hand over his. "You have to make time for The Office. There are no excuses."

"Just because you're obsessed with the show doesn't mean I—there!" Inuyasha pulled his hand from mine and pointed to a table behind us and I looked over my shoulder just in time to see a girl whipping her head back around. "I know you all saw her that time."

"I have no—" Sango stomped on Bank's foot, stopping him from making another horribly voiced lie. He just glared at her.

"Be honest with me." Inuyasha leaned in closer to me and looked me in the eyes. "Is there something wrong with me?"

"Well, your head is tad bit too big to fit through the door…" Inuyasha rolled his eyes and waved me off, sitting back again. "I mean, come on, Inuyasha. You're freaking out over the fact every girl isn't gawking at you anymore."

"You have to admit it's a bit unusual."

"You've got to be kidding me."

"I think Kouga is finally starting to rub off on you," Ayame said, finally joining the conversation. Up until now, her phone had been more interesting than us. "That's the kind of crap he says."

Inuyasha glared at her. "Don't compare me to that douchebag."

"If the shoe fits…"

"You guys do look like you wear the same size," Bank noted, looking under the table. "Do you ever share shoes with him?"

"Hell no!"

"I was just asking," Bank defended, throwing his hands up in surrender. "But now that I think about it, you both have long hair, demon blood, demon descent with dog connections…"

"Um, excuse me," a voice whispered behind me and Sango and I both turned around to see a short, Erin-sized girl with long, brown hair that curled at the ends. She had wide brown eyes and long lashes. She was a midget, but very pretty.

"Yeah?" Sango asked while I was too busy sizing the girl up.

"Are you sure he's really sick?" She whispered, tilting her head towards Inuyasha. "My friend said she saw him running the track last block and said he looked fine."

"Um…" I drew a blank. This wouldn't be a problem if Inuyasha was normal and _didn't _try in weight management. Seriously, it's _gym _class, an easy A. Who the hell puts forward legit effort?

"Have you ever met Coach Rowan?" Sango asked, taking over. The girl shook her head. "Do you have any idea what an overbearing slave driver he is? He thinks his students are being trained for the military, not realizing they only took that class for a complete bullshit course."

"So…"

"_So,"_ Sango exasperated, "Inuyasha was _pretending _to be okay so Coach didn't make him do extra exercises. Right, Kagome?"

"Yeah," I agreed. "Once, I didn't put a lot of effort into my workout because I had really bad cramps and he made me stay after school to run miles to make up for it." True story. Well, truth be told, I actually stayed after school because I asked to go to the bathroom and skipped class because I was boycotting the weight lifting exercise.

The girl's eyes widened. "Can he really do that?"

"Yep."

"So of course Inuyasha didn't want to go through that experience so he exhausted himself in there," Sango continued whispering. "I mean, just look at him."

"You're both impatient and cocky."

"You're both kind of show offs."

"Oh!" Ayame clapped her hands. "You even wear the same jeans."

"Face it man, you're practically identical."

Inuyasha's face was pale with the realization of how similar he was to Kouga and his eyes were wide.

"Oh my God." The girl covered her mouth in horror. "Coach Rowan is the devil."

"Yes, he is."

"I mean, he's obviously sick!"

"_Clearly!" _I agreed, shooting Sango a look and we both bit back our laughter.

"I just can't believe it." She shook her head. "Why did he even come to school today?"

"Stubborn," I shrugged.

"Oh yeah," Ayame agreed, pointing to Inuyasha. "Kouga is really stubborn, too."

"And he's still doing the Odd-Ball Olympics, too?" the girl asked, her brows furrowing.

"He's loyal. Wont' break a promise no matter what."

"Just like Kouga," Ayame relayed to Inuyasha and he let his head fall on the table. "You're actually really good at this," she told me, turning to face me.

I just smiled and patted Ayame on her shoulder.

"And we're telling everyone about it so they know not to bet," Sango continued explaining. "We don't want the whole school coming down with it."

"Oh, okay." The girl smiled and took a step back. "Thanks for clearing it up from me."

"No problem." We waved as the girl walked away and I waited until she was out of earshot before turning to Sango. "You are a genius."

"I know."

"Hmph," Bank scoffed from across the table. "More like a conniving—" I stomped on his foot this time and he winced before glaring at me. I looked back at him like nothing happened.

"Just remember," he pointed his finger back and forth between me and Sango, "Payback's a bitch."

"What?"

"What's wrong with you?" I asked Inuyasha, whose head was still on the table, ignoring Ayame's confusion. I'd explain it to her later. Or not. Now that I think about it, this rumor is kind of excessive and may be just as embarrassing as yesterday's failed attempt at rigging the betting polls. And Tuesday's attempt of placing a bet.

I'm starting to feel kind of pathetic.

"We literally just told him 23 ways he and Kouga are alike," Ayame informed me. "They could be twins."

"I think I'm going to be sick," Inuyasha groaned and I couldn't have been happier. Everyone within earshot just heard Inuyasha basically confirm he had Mono. And Inuyasha was always dead tired after lunch and usually kept his head down during fourth block (I knew this because he always bitched about his teacher bitching about him sleeping in class).

My job here is done.

-X-

"Terrible Three."

"No."

"Terrible _Trio."_

"No."

"Terrific Trio?"

"How about you stop with the alliteration," Kikyo advised me. "It's tacky."

"Why the fuck does Aki need team names anyways?" Sango asked. "Tell him he's doing too much."

"This is the first time Aki has put actual effort into a newspaper related event; I'm not going to curb his enthusiasm." Sango and Kikyo both groaned and fell back on the grass. "Stop complaining and help me think of a name. Aki starts announcing teams in two minutes."

"Leap frog is lame."

I looked at Sango, but she just shrugged. "Was that a suggestion?"

Kikyo rolled her eyes. "It's a statement."

Today's event was leap frog. We were just playing leap frog on the football field, racing against other teams. There were a total of eight three member teams competing in the leap frog tournament and Aki, at the last minute, decided he wanted every team to have a name he could introduce them with. So that left me, Sango and Kikyo sitting on the sidelines with a few minutes to come up with a name for a tournament we planned on throwing in the first round because none of us really felt like trying.

"Does it really have to have trio in it?" Sango asked.

"There are three of us…"

"Just pick some random name and get it over with," Kikyo sighed, sitting back up. "Aki's coming towards us."

"No regrets?" I asked her. "No take backs?"

"Just do it."

"Hey Kags," Aki greeted me, notepad in hand. "What's the name for you three beautiful ladies?" Kikyo scoffed. "It was a compliment Kikyo. Don't roll your eyes."

"We're the Banana Hammocks." Aki raised his brows at me and Sango stifled a laugh. Kikyo gave me a wide-eyed threatening look.

"Are you sure about that?" Aki asked me.

"Yep."

"You do know what that means, right?" I nodded my head. "And you really want to be called that?"

"Kagome," Kikyo warned me. "If you—"

"Write it down, Aki." I turned and smiled at Kikyo. "No regrets, right?"

"I fucking hate you."

"Kagome!" I turned my head to see Ms. Kido walking towards me as Aki moved on to the next group, a frown wrinkling her brow. "Do you know if anything's wrong with Inuyasha?"

"No," I lied, standing up. "Why?"

"Hitomi just showed me the list of bidders and there really aren't any female bidders which is odd considering yesterday there were almost too many girls."

"That _does_ sound odd." Sango cleared her throat behind me, silently informing me that I overdid it. "But there's always tomorrow. And guys still bet on you, right?"

"Yes. And there was one girl bidder so—"

"Wh-what?"

"—at least there's a few extra dollars going in."

"Yeah… But, um, just out of curiosity, who is the girl bidder?"

"I think her name was Akina. She's right there." Ms. Kido pointed to a girl standing off to the sides in jeans and a sweatshirt. "Are you going to thank her?"

"Yep!" I was making my way across the field to _thank _the girl who ruined my almost perfect plan. Thanks a lot!

"Hey!" I called out to the girl when I reached the other side of the field. "Akina, right?"

"Yeah…"

"You placed a bet to kiss Inuyasha?" She nodded. "Okay, you see, Inuyasha actually has Mono right now so, we've been telling all the girls not to bid because we don't want it going around and…" Akina looked like she was about to laugh in my face, "I'm sorry, is there something funny about this?"

"No, it's just…" She bit back a smile and shook her head before looking at me again. "I've had Mono before and it's like being hit by a bus. Inuyasha wouldn't be able to do _that"—_she pointed to Inuyasha, who was slap boxing and laughing with Miroku—"if he really had mono."

"It's the early stages," I retorted. "Look, I'm just trying to help you out so—"

"Thanks but no thanks." Akina gave me a tight lipped smile and headed towards the bleachers. "I think I can judge for myself what serious Mono looks like considering I've had it."

_That… _I let out a long breath to keep a hold of my temper (this whole week has really been testing my patience) and then headed over to the betting polls where Hitomi was cleaning up, the time to place bets having ended.

"Hey, Hitomi," I smiled at her. "How's the betting?"

"Pretty shitty, actually." She slid the clipboard where all the bets were recorded to me. "Only one girl placed a bet."

"It's because Inuyasha has Mono." Hitomi raised a brow at me. "It's in the early stages."

Hitomi gave me a knowing smile. "_Right…"_

"You know—" Hitomi looked at me expectantly and I gave up on trying to defend myself. "Never mind. Who'd she bet on?"

"Shinji's team."

"Seriously?" I groaned, finding Akina's name on the clipboard. Now if I wanted to make sure there was no chance of anyone kissing Inuyasha I had to beat Shinji, the idiot gung-ho on winning. "And she only bet one dollar!"

"No need to throw down forty when there's no competition."

_Ugh! _Why did all my plans blow up in my face?

"_Good afternoon Shikon High! Today, on this wonderful October evening, Shikon Times brings to you the first leap frog tournament!"_

"That's my cue to go back to my team." I handed Hitomi back the clipboard. "Give it to Raiden before the first race. He's announcing the winners today, but he's also referee."

"Aye aye, Captain."

I ran back across the field to Sango and Kikyo who were lying on the ground instead of stretching like the other teams.

"Get up," I ordered, grabbing Sango's hand and pulling her to her feet. "Start stretching or doing squats or whatever. Loosen up."

"Why?" Kikyo asked, sitting up on her elbows. "I thought we agreed not to try."

"There's been a change of plans." I reached to pull Kikyo up, but she slapped my hand away. "We have to beat Shinji's team."

Sango's eyes widened. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me; we're going to beat Shinji's team."

"Have you looked at line up for the tournament? We are the last team, while Shinji's team is second—we'd have to make it all the way to the finals to beat Shinji."

"Which is why I'm telling you to warm up." I started doing lunges while Aki continued announcing team names. "Get up, Kikyo."

"I don't sweat," she told me. "I'm not busting my ass just for you. Why do we have to win all of a sudden?"

"Because…" I looked to Sango for help but she just glared at me as she did squats. No help from her end. "Because I told everyone Inuyasha had Mono to keep girls from kissing him, but this one girl decided to bet anyway and she bet on Shinji's team so that's why we have to beat him," I rushed out. "Okay?"

Kikyo snorted and grinned her smug/condescending smile. "Seriously?"

"Yes, seriously, so now would you _get up?"_

"'You've really gotten desperate, Higurashi," Kikyo laughed as she stood up. "First trying to place your own bet and now this."

"You did _what?"_

"Kikyo!"

"Oops. Did I say that out loud?" She gave me a smile that wasn't at all apologetic. "Sorry 'bout that."

"You failed to mention this when you told me and Bank about trying to rig the betting polls yesterday," Sango added, smirking at Kikyo.

"Sango!"

"Wow." Kikyo bit back her laughter. "_Really _desperate."

"I hate you two."

"_And, our final team compiled of the three beautiful Shikon Times ladies, Sango, Kikyo, and our editor-in-chief Kagome, the Banana Hammocks!"_

"Right back at you," Kikyo whispered in my ear as she draped her arm over my shoulders and waved to the crowd.

-X-

Thankfully, the first three races to get to the finals were easy. Everybody else seemed to feel like half-assing the races and because I forced us to try, it wasn't very hard for the Banana Hammocks to advance. So the only problem we had when it came to going against Shinji's team was that our legs were tired and Kikyo was two seconds away from murdering me because she had sweat stains under her pits.

"Alright, this is the last race guys," I told them in our huddle before we started the final race. "Just a hundred yards and we're done, we win the trophy, we're champs."

"There's no trophy, Kagome," Sango deadpanned.

"Then let's just strive for the satisfaction of winning, 'kay?" Sango grumbled under her breath and Kikyo rolled her eyes. "Hands in guys. Banana Hammocks on three. One, two, Banana Hammocks!" I was the only one who threw my hand up and yelled—Sango and Kikyo just walked out of the huddle and onto the field. I think they may be tired of me tiring them out. "Okay, next time! Energy people, energy!"

"Kagome," Kikyo sighed. "You are _really _pissing me off."

"Sweating is a natural body process," I informed her and she glared at me. "If you didn't sweat you couldn't maintain homeostasis and you'd overheat and die."

"Thanks for the biology lesson."

"_And the finale is here! The showdown between the Banana Hammocks and Blood, Sweat and Tears will determine the leap frog champion! Would the teams please take their mark on the end zone line?"_

"Ready to get whooped?" Shinji smirked at me as we lined up on the starting line. "Your legs are starting to look a little wobbly."

"I'm actually fine." All those stupid leg exercises we did in weight management finally paid off. "You should be worried."

Shinji gave a non-too-subtle glance at Kikyo and Sango. "I don't think so."

"_Alright, we'll start on the count of three. As in one, two, three, and then go."_

"So would you like to look more alive?" I whispered to my team. "The other guys are sizing us up."

"I'm _tired_," Kikyo snapped at me. "I've hopped across this damn football field three times today so excuse me for wanting to sit down for two seconds."

"It's just one more time, Kikyo," I encouraged her, giving her a pat on the back. "Then you can lie down like a log for all I care."

"I'm going to choke you and then lie down like a log."

"Maybe you'd like to rethink that?"

"_Three… Two…"_

"Seriously, Kikyo, we're friends."

"By _your _standards."

"_One… Go!"_

I cut my argument off with Kikyo and crouched so Sango could hop over me and then Kikyo could hop over both of us. After our first rotation, Shinji's team already seemed to be a yard ahead of us so I coaxed Kikyo and Sango to move faster which resulted in Kikyo stepping on my hand before jumping over me. I would like to think it was an accident, but I knew Kikyo. Just around the fifty yard line, one of the members of Blood, Sweat, and Tears stumbled and fell and we managed to take the lead. I tried to maintain our slight advantage, but Sango and Kikyo were starting to slow down—they didn't take gym classes every year like me which seriously hurt their stamina—and we were practically tied with Shinji again, but he had taken a slight lead in the last five yards. A ribbon of tissue paper had been strung across the finish line for the winner to break and just before Shinji could hop across it, claiming victory, I tripped over Kikyo's hand (I think she tripped me on purpose), stretched my hand out, broke the ribbon and tumbled face first into a mouthful of dirt.

_Yum, _I thought as I rolled over onto my back. _I love the taste of fresh dirt in the afternoon._

"Nice going," Kikyo grumbled as she got off her knees. "Graceful finish."

"At least we won." Kikyo shook her head and stalked off the field, heading back towards the building. "She could at least show some gratitude."

"Just be glad she gave up on choking you," Sango advised me, plopping down on the ground next to my head. "I think there's something about sweating and being called a banana hammock all afternoon that pisses Kikyo off."

"…You have a point."

"We won!" Shinji cheered, hopping up and down. "We won!"

"_What?"_ I picked myself off the ground and hurried over to Shinji. "We clearly won. I fell over the finish line before you did. I _broke_ the ribbon."

"But you fell over it, you didn't hop. That doesn't count."

"That's bullshit!"

"This is leap frog, Kagome. You don't win by being a klutz and tripping over the finish line. That's like cheating."

"That's _winning. _Don't start twisting the rules because you can't stand losing. Raiden!" I beckoned him over, pointing an accusing finger at Shinji. "Tell him I won."

"I—"

"You _can't _win like that!" Shinji cut Raiden off. "If that's the case the person with the longest arms would win because they could stretch their arms over finish line. You _can't win like that."_

"I'm sorry, would you like to consult the leap frog handbook?Stop being a punk and just accept defeat."

"Maybe I would if you actually won…"

"I won! Just because you're a little bitch—"

"_I'm _the bitch?" Shinji laughed. "Who's the one always complaining about the dumbest shit and biting everyone's head off when they don't get their way?"

"Um… that would be you. In case you forgot, you almost cried because you lost in Cookies n' Cream yesterday."

"I wasn'tcrying!"

"Oh, right." I rolled my eyes and slapped my forehead. "Your _allergies _were acting up. Silly me."

"You tried throwing a girl in the pool on Monday when she kissed your boyfriend, in case you forgot. I'm pretty sure that's the epitome of insanity right there."

"He's not my boyfriend!"

"Oh, right." Shinji, slapped his forehead, mocking me. "Your _fuck buddy. _Silly me."

"I'm going to rip your hair out of your head."

"Come at me!"

"Okay, okay!" Raiden stepped in between the two of us before I could lunge for Shinji's hair. "Just… chill out."

"_Things seem to be getting intense on the field… It looks like there's a disagreement over who won."_

"Just tell him I won already," I ordered Raiden brushing my bangs out of my face. When Raiden hesitated I looked up at him to see him biting his lip. "Raiden."

"Look…" I widened my eyes at him and he placed a hand on my shoulder to calm me down. "It was a close call. I—It actually has to be considered who won."

"_What?" _ I gaped at him and Raiden flinched. "But I broke the ribbon!"

"I know, but Shinji makes some valid points so I'm just going to talk it over with the board and—"

"The _board?" _ I wrinkled my brow. "Who's on the board?"

"It's just me, Aki, and Ms. Kido. We decided to make up a board just in case a situation like this happened."

"What, are you going to rewind the play and closely evaluate it?"

"Kagome."

"Sorry," I apologized, letting out a breath of air. I'm not usually this angry, but after busting my ass to beat Shinji, it _really _ticked me off that our effort might go to waste because of one questionable play. "Just hurry up." Raiden nodded and jogged off the field, leaving me standing next to a smug Shinji. "Stop smiling like that—this doesn't mean you won."

"_Right…"_

"I'm still going to rip your hair out," I reminded him. "Don't forget about it." Shinji tapped his chest and mouthed for me to come at him again and I was tempted to, but Sango grabbed the back of my shirt before I could make a move.

"Calm down, tigress," she said, pulling me back. "It's just a game."

"It wasjust a game, but, Sango," I looked into her eyes, "I _really _hate Shinji."

"Let it go, Kags. It's just one kiss." I frowned and she draped her arm over my shoulders. "I'll treat you to smoothies as a pick me up."

"I'd prefer ice cream."

"Ice cream it is then. Meet you at Coldstone after this?" I nodded and she smiled just as Raiden came running back up to us.

"So?" I asked him. "What's the verdict?"

"We decided—"

"_And, after intense arguing with the ref and much consideration, it has been decided that the winner is…_ _Blood, Sweat, and Tears!"_

"Yes!" Shinji cheered, jumping in the air. "Hell yes!"

"Really, Raiden?" I looked at him and he shrugged.

"We voted on it and majority said Shinji won." I rolled my eyes and threw my hands in the air. "Sorry, Kags."

"Why do I even try?"

"Yay, you won the leap frog tournament," Sango sarcastically cheered as Shinji gave his team high fives and did an extra fist pump. "Go sit down somewhere. It's not like you get a trophy."

"Don't be jealous, Sango. But hey," Shinji held his hand out to Sango, "Good game."

Sango stared at him like he was crazy. "Again, you're the champion of _leap frog."_

"So…" I turned my head to see Inuyasha standing behind me with his hands in his pockets, half smiling, half smirking. "Banana Hammocks?"

"It was a spur of the moment thing," I waved off. "Not my best moment."

"No, I'm sure it's every girl's dream to be a part of a team whose name means thongs that make guys' junk look huge."

"I finally checked something off my bucket list." Inuyasha laughed and I smiled at him. "On a brighter note, you only have one girl to kiss today."

"Really?"

"Yep. I was working so hard because I thought your lips deserved a break, but it looks like I couldn't help you out after all."

"I could tell you really tried." Inuyasha smirked at me. "You have quite the temper."

"Yeah, it… pops up every now and then."

"I'd have to quit if I didn't want to kiss anymore girls, though."

"Maybe you should." Inuyasha raised his brows at me. "I mean, as a suggestion. I'm not saying I _want _you to quit—you're really a big help—but if you want to…"

Inuyasha nodded his head. "_Right…"_

Why the hell was everyone saying "right" like that?

"Since I only have one girl to kiss today do you think you could stay long enough to hang out when I'm done?"

"Um, sorry, but I can't."

"Oh."

"Yeah." I gave Inuyasha a brief smile and began to walk towards my stuff. "I'm busy tonight"

-x-

_I slammed my head into a wall a billion times as punishment for my stupidity._

_**-0-0-0-0-0-**_

_**And that's all folks. Hopefully, since I've basically given up in French, I'll try to spend more class time writing instead of sleeping and the next chapter will be up in a reasonable amount of time. I'm opening The Office 2013 box calendar at midnight and maybe I'll bring in the new year with a few reviews too? Pretty pretty please review!**_

_**Happy New Year!**_

_**~Kimiko888~**_

**So we made this facebook page once upon a time and only six amazing people liked it. You guys are really disappointing me. If you like us on facebook, you'll know our progress on stories. And sometimes our not-so progress, progress. Kimiko can be a very lazy person, as a matter of fact, she is insanely lazy. I believe we have a link to the page on Kimiko's profile so like us on facebook. It would make us feel popular. Also, hope you guys had a fantastic holiday season and I wish you the best in 2013!**

**~hanmajoerin**


	15. Stop Running

**Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha**

**I AM BACK FROM THE DEAD!**

**I **_**really **_**wanted to have this updated earlier, but school and college got in the way. I did finish my applications, but then scholarship applications needed to be done and I was too busy writing a million essays to write any fanfic. And then AP testing got in the way and I've just managed to drag myself out from that overbearing amount of stress.**

**This chapter is basically a filler because I had to bridge the gap between last chapter and the one after this (which will be uploaded VERY soon.) And I have some **_**GREAT NEWS**_**: the **_next three chapters are basically written_** (I went ahead and wrote the scenes when I was bored about a year ago).**

**And I do plan on working on NoRMaL next so (hopefully) that will also come soon.**

**And, before I forget, I would like to give a shout out to **Saria Forest14** and her story **_Ashes_**. I have not gotten around to reading the latest chapters because of my schedule, but I plan on it. So if you're bored and looking for some **_**good **_**fanfiction, I would recommend **_Ashes_**.**

**Okay, **_**now **_**you can read.**

**-X-**

**Walking Tightropes**

**Chapter 15: Stop Running**

"I give up," I conceded to Sango as I flopped onto the couch in the family room and snatched up the remote. Souta had an entire, one-hundred point project to finish tomorrow which meant he wasn't playing video games, giving me the chance to watch TV.

"_The calculus homework wasn't that hard, Kagome. If you stopped staring at Inuyasha all class, you might actually know how to do your homework."_

I rolled my eyes. "One, I don't stare at Inuyasha all class; two, calculus _is _that hard and you're just some math genius; and three, I wasn't talking about calculus. I was talking about trying to keep Inuyasha from kissing girls."

"_Guilty conscience?"_

"Exhaustion," I corrected her, turning on _Asia's Next Top Model_. "I put so much work into sabotaging the events only to fail epically. I feel like it'd be easier to quit."

"_Quitters never win."_

"Attempters clearly don't either." Sango laughed loudly. "Do you think Kikyo still wants to kill me?"

"_When doesn't she want to kill you? I'm starting to wonder if you two are even really friends."_

"Of course we are." Kikyo may have difficulty showing me her love, but I knew it existed—somewhere deep, deep, deep down in her heart. Sango snorted and I decided to just change the subject. "So, do you want to lend me your calculus homework tomorrow morning?"

"_Did you do the world history outline?"_

"Yep."

"_Then I'll see you tomorrow morning to trade. Now I can go to bed at a decent time. I've been up until three for the past two nights."_

"Isn't that because you were looking up that Korean boy band Chaeryn told us about?"

"_They're all we listen to at work now. And Kagome." _Sango let a moment of silence pass between us. _"The bassist is _too_ perfect. I think I'm in love."_

"I'm sure." I had seen a picture of CN Blue and the bassist looked like a girl with his shoulder length hair. But he pulled back into a short ponytail—should have known he'd be the one Sango liked. "He looks a lot like Miroku."

"_WHAT? Don't insult him like that. Miroku is okay, but this guy… he's like… Grecian god material. I love him."_

"Wow. And people say _I_ jump into relationships too fast."

"_When it's true love, the only way to do it is by jumping in head first, fearless." _I rolled my eyes. _"I'm breaking up with Miroku tomorrow afternoon, actually. I won't have to go see his heartbroken face during school and he'll have the whole weekend to try to heal. Smart, right?"_

"That's how I'd do it." Sango hummed in agreement. "But you're joking, right?" Sometimes it was hard to tell whether Sango was being serious or not.

"_Yes, Kagome."_

"Just checking. You two are perfect for each other."

"_I'm perfect for the bassist. I'm settling for Miroku."_

"You know you love him. You want to _kiss _him…"

"I don't like Miroku!"

"That only worked when you weren't dating. It's time to find a new excuse." The doorbell rang and I looked at the clock. It was 9:50. "Actually, you should just stop."

"_It's a reflex."_

I got up and walked to the door, putting _Asia's Next Top Model_ on pause. "Who do we know that would come to my house at ten o'clock at night?"

"_Since it's not me, Bank or Erin. Bank might have gotten locked out of his house again."_

"Typical." I opened the door and Inuyasha was standing on my doorstep with his hands stuffed into his pockets. His head snapped up as soon as I opened the door. "Oh."

"Hey." Inuyasha smiled at me and pulled out season two DVD of _The Office. _"I figured I'd make time for _The Office_."

"_Is it Erin? Is she alright?"_

"It's not Erin." I stepped aside and motioned Inuyasha to come in. "I'll talk to you tomorrow, Sango."

"_You're just going to _ditch _me like this?" _Sango gasped. "_It's Inuyasha. What exactly could you two be doing at ten at night?"_

"Bye, Sango." I hung up and stored my phone into the front pocket of my hoodie and turned to face Inuyasha. "Do you just have a thing for surprise visits?"

"It's fun to see what people look like when they're not expecting you." He nodded at me. "You should wear your glasses more often."

"I don't think so." I led Inuyasha into the family room where ANTM was on pause, silently cursing myself for my attire. The glasses weren't bad, but I hadn't bothered to brush my hair after my afternoon nap and I wore pajama pants that I had from eighth grade that were two inches too short.

"Is your mom really okay with me being here?" Inuyasha asked, cautiously sitting down next to me on the couch and glancing around as if he expected Mom to pop out and chase him out of our house with a broom. "It's pretty late."

"If you were really worried about my mom you would have come earlier."

"I had to work tonight and I wasn't planning on coming in…" Inuyasha scratched the back of his head uncomfortably.

"So watching _The Office_ was just an excuse for what?" I pulled my legs up to my chest and leaned back against the arm of the sofa.

"I wanted to talk to you, but I'm pretty sure you would have made up some excuse if I called ahead of time and _The Office_ was the only good opening line I could think of. And I figured you'd let anyone with _The Office_ on them in your house, no questions asked."

"A completely accurate conjecture." Inuyasha smiled down at his hands while I gathered my courage to continue the conversation. "What do you want to talk about?" I already knew the answer, but I figured I'd be polite and leave Inuyasha the honor.

"Why have you been avoiding me?" Inuyasha looked me right in the eyes—there was no beating around the bush with him. "We were really cool up until this week and then you started avoiding me after school, but pretending like everything was fine when we were in class together."

"_Pffft." _I looked at Inuyasha as if he was crazy. My motto had always been fake it 'til you make it. "I wasn't avoiding you. We had breakfast together in my car this morning. And we have three classes together; it's impossible to ignore you."

Inuyasha was unpleased. "Seriously, why are you avoiding me?"

"Considering we're sitting here on my couch right now, I wouldn't say I'm 'avoiding' you."

"You're avoiding the question."

"Are you a question?"

"Kagome," Inuyasha bit out through grit teeth. "Come on. I know you went with Erin to a church instead of stopping by Bean Café. What's up with that?"

Of course Erin had to tell Inuyasha _everything. _

"What's up with me wanting to talk to my Lord instead of eating pies and goofing off in an abandoned coffee shop?" I raised my brow at Inuyasha and he rolled his eyes. "I think you can figure that one out."

"I'm serious, Kagome," Inuyasha stressed and I bit my lip, sensing his irritation. "Just tell me."

My attempts weren't that bad, but the absolute stupidity behind them… Telling InuYasha about that would be the epitome of self-humiliation. And I would ultimately end up confessing how much I really liked him and, while that wouldn't be bad either (it would probably speed up the process), I never told any of my boy how I felt first.

"I just…" I growled at my inability to find the courage or words to just spill the truth. "I've just been in a weird mood this week. Sorry."

"Yeah, that's cool, but why did you have so many mood swings? That's what I really want to know."

I sighed, blowing my bangs off my forehead. Why couldn't we just _move on?_

"Why do you want to know so badly? I apologized for my behavior, you accepted it, let's watch _The Office_." I moved to grab the DVD from Inuyasha's hand, but he held it out of my reach.

"I want to know if there's a legit reason for dealing with this bullshit when I didn't do anything wrong."

I froze and stared at Inuyasha for half a second. This was the first time I'd seen Inuyasha this mad at anyone besides teachers and Kouga.

"I don't know," I snapped. "Why would I possibly want to avoid you after seeing you kiss a million girls? I have _no idea_ what would have prompted my behavior."

Inuyasha gaped at me. "You _asked _me to do it."

"I wasn't expecting you to say yes!"

"Then why did you act like you were fine with it the whole time?"

"Threatening to throw girls into a pool is what you consider to be fine?" I asked him, raising a brow. "Seriously?"

"Well, you didn't say anything."

"Because I had to make a point…" Crap. I hadn't planned on revealing _everything_.

"What point?"

"I…" Inuyasha stared at me eagerly. "I'd rather not talk about it." Explaining that I pretended to be okay because I wanted to prove that we were just friends (a fact that was clearly untrue) seemed stupid. "I'm sorry."

Inuyasha shook his head. "I don't get why you'd run away instead of facing me and talking about it."

Ugh. Talking. Just thinking about it gave me an ulcer.

"I don't know." I shrunk back into the sofa. "That's just how I deal with things."

"Well, it's stupid."

"Well, it's me," I defended myself, glaring a bit at Inuyasha and he backed off. "I'm really sorry, though. It was kind of immature." Inuyasha looked like he wanted to say something, but nodded instead. "So are we cool now?"

"Are you going to hang around after the kickball event tomorrow?"

"Depends on how many girls you plan on kissing." Inuyasha's face fell flat. "Kidding. I can wait on you."

"Cool."

"Yeah."

"Yeah…"

We sat in an awkward silence while our conversation started sinking in for me. So I admitted I was jealous and Inuyasha handled it pretty well. He didn't try to subtly say we were just friends and he didn't run away; this could be great progress for our relationship. In fact, since we already got the ball rolling, we could just keep going and admit we like each other. That idea actually sounded very appealing.

Inuyasha looked around the room for something to talk about and his eyes fell on the time displayed on the cable box. "I think I'm going to go now. It's kind of sketchy if I stay here any longer."

"What are you talking about?" I asked, sitting up. I could not let this opportunity slip away when I was willingly facing the truth. "Bank spends the night almost every other weekend."

"Yeah, but your Mom knows Bank and there's a difference between me and him. You two are friends but we're—" Inuyasha cut himself off and his eyes grew wide and his cheeks turned red.

_Thank you, God._

"Not friends?"

"Of course we're friends, but we're…" Inuyasha stared at me, hoping I'd get what he was trying to say and I did. I just wanted to hear him say it. "You know what I'm talking about."

"No, I don't think I do."

"Kagome." I tried to fight back my grin, but I was failing and Inuyasha laughed nervously and ran his hand through his hair. "I—"

"What," I jumped at the sound of Grandpa's voice and Inuyasha shot up from the couch, standing at attention. "Is going on here?"

_Why do you tease me, God? Why!_

"Hey, Grandpa," I smiled. He glared. "This is Inuyasha."

"Hi, sir." Inuyasha reached his hand out to shake Grandpa's, but Grandpa scowled at him. "I was… um, uh, about to leave."

"It's ten o'clock at night. You shouldn't be here in the first place. All I wanted was to come down and enjoy a nice cup of tea in the middle of the night, but instead I find some prepubescent teenager talking to my granddaughter in the middle of the night!" Inuyasha flinched and I tried not to laugh. "Do you have no respect for this family? Do you think you can just go out with my granddaughter without introducing yourself?"

"I—"

"Back in my day we had respect for women! We came over at decent times and met their fathers' first and asked for permission! You're going to give my granddaughter a bad rep if you keep showing up like this! What will the neighbors think?"

"I'm sorry, sir. I didn't mean to—"

"Well you did! You disrespectful heathen, get out of my house!"

"I-I—" Inuyasha looked at me for help, and I motioned for him to leave.

"Just go, Inuyasha," I encouraged him, moving in to step in front of my grandfather in case he decided to attack. I loved Grandpa with every fiber in my soul, but he was crazy. "I'll talk to you tomorrow."

"Yeah, I'll see you tomorrow." Inuyasha smiled at me and then bowed to my grandfather before running out of the house, slamming the door behind him.

"Aishhh," Grandpa hissed out as he hobbled towards the kitchen and I followed him. "I'm getting tired of running all these boys out of the house for you, Kagome."

"I actually didn't want you to run this one out."

"I heard you arguing and just assumed," Grandpa shrugged as he went to the cupboards to grab a tea bag and I went to fill the kettle for him. If we had an electric kettle, boiling water would take less time, but Grandpa insisted on doing things "old school". "And you just broke up with one of those boys, right. I thought he was harassing you."

"I broke up with Hojo," I informed him. "That was Inuyasha."

Grandpa sighed and shook his head. "There's a new boy every week for you."

Had anyone else told me that I might have been offended, but I understood that Grandpa genuinely cared for me; even though he might not use the best arrangement of words to express it.

Grandpa shuffled over to the cupboard and grabbed a mug for himself. "And why did you break up with Hojo? He was a perfectly respectable man. He brought an icepack for my swollen knee that one time. Do you remember that? He's a good man, Kagome."

"He's a jerk, Grandpa."

Grandpa clucked his tongue. "You have no taste in men, Kagome," he scolded, pointing his finger at me. "Let me pick out your husband for you so you can stop all this running around."

Considering how much Grandpa loved Hojo, letting him pick my husband would be the worst possible decision I could make.

"I don't run around with that many boys, Grandpa."

"You could dial it back some. You're too nice of a girl to let so many boys break your heart." Grandpa shook his head, watching the water boil. "It's just not right."

I smiled at Grandpa and went to stand next to him in front of the stove, leaning over to kiss his wrinkled forehead. He looked up at me and I grinned wider. "I'm going to be fine, Grandpa. Inuyasha's a good guy."

"They're all good guys at first." Grandpa shook his head, but patted me on my shoulder. "Just remember you deserve the best."

I smiled and gave him another kiss on the cheek.

I love my family.

-x-

_While I truly loved my family, I _hated _Grandpa's timing. _Hated. It. _Had he waited ten more seconds, Inuyasha probably would have asked me out and I wouldn't have spent all night twisting and turning in bed, thinking about what had _almost _happened._

-X-

**I am currently slightly frustrated with myself because this would have fit in just fine with the last chapter and I could be on to the carnival stuff already, but I didn't listen to hanmajo and I insisted on making another chapter which had a bunch of useless crap in it besides this scene. So I basically cut out everything I originally had planned for this chapter resulting in the reason why it's so short. But, I can PROMISE you the next chapter will be longer and come out VERY SOON.**

**And is anyone else completely ripped apart by the fact The Office had its last episode EVER last Thursday? I swear to God, I died inside. **

**Please review!**

**~Kimiko888~**

**We're a tough dynamic duo. Between finishing up school and dealing with personal lives, Kimiko and I have had little time to spare. So thanks for bearing with us, we know we can be awful with time. This chapter was a cute little bridge for the next so hopefully you enjoyed it.**

**~hanmajo**


	16. Dropping Hints

**Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha**

**Walking Tightropes**

**Chapter 16: Dropping Hints**

_Um, yeah. So karma really is that much of a bitch. Especially when she decides to come in the form of ex boyfriends._

-x-

"I want all the game booths to be set up in the same area, kind of in a row. I think the other people already set up a lot of the games around the fountain so if you could just find an empty spot by them that would be great." The man with the Tak Game's logo on his shirt nodded and started carting his cargo away. "Thank you!"

"Inuyasha did a pretty good job," Sango commented as I sat down next to her. "He really came through on the games," she added, taking the time to admire our progress on the banner we planned to hang over the park entrance.

"Don't mention that name," I grumbled, dipping my paintbrush into a can of orange paint. "He's dead to me."

"No he's not."

"Fine. He's pissing me off." I made angry brush strokes on the banner. "He's such a tease."

"Look who's talking," Sango snorted and I glared at her. "Whoa. Take a chill pill."

"He's just…" I scowled at the banner, dropping my paintbrush back in the can with a loud _plunk. _"He's so _annoying."_

After Inuyasha stopped by Thursday night, I expected some grand gesture signifying that we were going out. Actually, I didn't even want a big gesture; I just wanted him to say, "hey, let's go out this weekend." That's _it. _That's all he had to say and I would have spent the rest of the day tickled pink. But what did I get? A whole bunch of mumbo jumbo about the soundtrack for some movie I had to smile and pretend to give a damn about.

I decided to give Inuyasha the benefit of the doubt about Thursday night. I figured asking relationship related questions early in the morning would make the rest of the day awkward so it was only natural that he'd ask me out at the end of lunch. It was a mistake to have _any _kind of expectation considering Inuyasha just skipped away with Miroku, totally leaving me in the dust.

But did I get mad? No. I was disappointed and slightly irritated, but I didn't flip out. I figured he was testing me—making sure I'd actually wait for him after the Kickball Event. I lost to Shinji's team in kickball, was covered in red dirt because I uselessly tried sliding into home base, was pissed about Inuyasha kissing six girls, but still waited outside in the bed of Inuyasha's truck for him because that's how much I genuinely cared.

But then he ruined it by talking about everything except the _one _thing I wanted to hear.

Asshole.

"He could be waiting for the right moment to ask you out," Sango offered and I groaned loudly. "You know, something special."

"It's a date, not prom."

"It could be special to him." I rolled my eyes. "Maybe you should have hinted at it more?" Sango suggested, finishing our banner with a blue exclamation point.

"Sango." I sat back on my hands and gaped at her. "I basically said everything Thursday night. There was no need for hints!"

"Technically, Inuyasha said everything."

"But I played along with it and left _very _obvious hints." I shook my head and stood up, wiping dirt from my jeans. "He's so stupid."

"Well instead of getting mad at InuYasha, you should have just brought up the topic of a date yesterday." Sango stood up, grabbing a corner of our banner and I reached for the other one, helping her lift it. "This is the 21st century, Kagome. Take charge."

"I was giving Inuyasha a chance to take charge. I didn't want to kill his man pride." Not that he seemed to have any.

"You should have. If you let it go unchecked for too long he'll end up like Kouga. And while Kouga is a great guy, he is an insufferable, chauvinist pig ninety percent of the time." We started walking towards the entrance of Suzuya Park, mindful of how fragile the banner was. "You don't have to wait on Inuyasha, Kagome. Women are taking charge all over the world and—"

"_And _the point is I don't have a date with Inuyasha and it sucks." Not that I don't care about feminism—it's very important—but Sango can go on for a _long _time about it. "I only wanted him to ask me out. He walks around with so much confidence, but he does absolutely _nothing _with it."

"Maybe you intimidate him," Sango suggested and I rolled my eyes. "You do have quite the history, Kagome. A lot of guys would get nervous about that."

"If I tell him I like him, he shouldn't be intimidated."

"You hinted. You did not tell."

"I practically threw myself at him!"

"Admit it Kags, you were being a tease that night." I grumbled under my breath and Sango laughed. "What you should have done was said, 'I like you, too' when he was all nervous and blushing. But you had to tease him and then your grandpa came in and ruined everything."

I threw my head back and groaned. All I wanted was a date.

"On the bright side, you have all of today to ask him out."

"I'm not talking to him," I swore. "I'm protesting."

"Yeah, right."

"Hello ladies." Aki grinned at us when we made it to the arch that bent over the entrance of the park. He pointed to the ladder Raiden was leaning against. "We got the ladders."

"And we finished the banner." Sango and I stepped apart, displaying the banner in all its colorful, painted glory. "Isn't it beautiful?"

"Gorgeous," Raiden confirmed as he stepped away from the ladder, reaching to set up the other one on the other side of the arch. "I'll set this up and then Aki and I will hang it. We just need you to steady the ladders."

"Okay."

"I don't know…" Aki held his chin and tilted his head to the side, examining the banner. "Welcome to the Odd-Ball Carnival: Everyone's Accepted?" Aki read out loud, raising his brow at me. "Should we have bearded ladies and contortionists or something? This makes it sound like we're putting on a circus. Or a freak show."

I frowned at him. "This took a lot of work."

"I mean, I can call up some people and find a few sword swallowers if you want. Some rare demons, maybe?"

"Don't talk to me."

"Chill, Kagome," Sango said, jabbing me in my side. "The weather is nice, everyone showed up to help set up on time, and no utter chaos has erupted yet. Plus, we're on schedule." She smiled. "Enjoy the little things for now and worry about Inuyasha later."

I let out a long sigh. "Fine."

"Okay." We turned to Raiden as he stepped back from the ladder. "Let's hurry and set this up so we can be done."

Sango and I handed the banner off to Raiden and Aki then spotted the ladders as they climbed up. After a few minutes of arguing over the position, the banner was tacked and ready to welcome everyone.

"Everyone's Accepted?" I glanced over my shoulder to see Kikyo looking up at the banner, her mouth twisted in distaste. "Now all kinds of creeps are going to be walking around, trying to snatch up high school girls and rape them. If someone gets murdered at this carnival, it's your fault."

"I told you!" Aki shouted, and I rolled my eyes.

"It's a park, not a private event. Even without the banner, all kinds of people will come. Besides, if Naraku can get in, there's no point in worrying about anyone else because no one is creepier than him."

Kikyo glared. "Watch it."

"I'm just being honest."

"At least I can keep a steady boyfriend."

"That doesn't change the fact he freaks everyone out."

"Okay ladies," Aki stepped in between us. "Let's put the claws away."

"No, let them keep going," Sango assured him. "This is just how they display their friendship."

"They're friends?"

"It's complicated."

"Did your dad get here yet?" I asked Kikyo, switching topics. "I reserved a spot by the picnic tables near the stage for him to set up his food booths and told the food trucks to park along the sidewalk." In order to expand the variety of food at the carnival, we invited all the food trucks in town to park and serve people all day, but still gave Kikyo's dad prime realty.

"Yeah, he's pretty much done. Ms. Kido sent me to tell you everything is set up and ready to go."

"Cool. I guess everyone can chill out then. Check in with Ms. Kido to make sure you don't miss your shift if you have to run a booth and I'll see you all later for clean-up. And Aki," I stopped him before he could take off. "Take actual pictures of people enjoying the carnival."

He picked up his camera from the grass and saluted me. "Yes ma'am!"

Raiden walked off with Aki and Kikyo left me and Sango to answer her phone and I sat down in the grass by the entrance. "I'm too tired to run a carnival today."

"You don't have to do much; just make sure you remember your dunk booth shift," Sango pointed out as she sat down next to me.

"The dunk booth," I groaned, leaning my head on Sango's shoulder. "I completely forgot about that."

"I didn't." Sango grinned widely at me. "I've been looking forward to this _all _week."

"I hate you."

"Love you, too."

I laughed and lifted my head off her shoulder. "Want to find something to do until the rest of the guys get here?"

"Ayame sent me a text saying they would be here soon so we should just wait."

Sango and I waited, directing people who came, until a gang of five canine demons and an almost midget-sized blonde girl finally made their appearance.

"For real?" Kouga asked, grinning at the banner as Sango and I stood up from the grass. "A friend of mine just got out of jail for murder. Should I call him over?"

"That joke has already gotten old," I deadpanned and Kouga frowned.

"It's very pretty," Ayame told me, giving me a hug. "So, do you want to go in or what?"

"Food first, then games," Ginta declared and Hakkaku nodded in agreement. "We're _starving._"

"I think I smell burgers," Inuyasha chimed in, lifting his nose and Ginta and Hakkaku's faces both broke out into giddy grins.

"We're going to go in ahead of you—you guys can catch up," Ginta said as he and his brother took off running into the carnival. Inuyasha made a move to follow them.

"Hey, Inuyasha," I stopped him before he could leave. "You're going to take off without even saying hi?"

"You don't hear that?" We were all silent, but heard nothing. "It's my stomach _roaring. _I'll catch you later, alright?"

"Yeah…"

"Cool." He smiled and then ran after Ginta and Hakkaku. Kouga shook his head, but followed InuYasha.

I turned and stared wide eyed at Sango. "Did you—did you just…"

"Deep breaths, Kags," Sango tried to calm me, patting my shoulder. "He's probably genuinely hungry."

"I swear to God, he's punishing me for avoiding him all week!"

"That would make sense…" I gaped at Ayame. "But I'm pretty sure that's not the case."

"He's nervous," Erin waved us off. "He wants to ask you out, but he doesn't know how and being around you makes him jumpy. Trust me. We were talking about this at band practice yesterday."

"Seriously?"

"_Yes," _Erin stressed, irritated. She held out her hand. "Keys." I looked at her confused. "Look, when I said we would perform tonight you promised me that I could sleep in your car as long as I wanted. Do you have any idea how early it is?"

"Erin, it's noon."

"_Exactly._This is fucking insane._" _She shook her hand. "Keys. Please." I fished my keys out of my pocket and dropped them in her hand and she let out a deep sigh of relief. "What time are you going to be walking the plank?"

"Uh, four-ish? Why?"

"Tell one of the guys to wake me up around four so I can dunk you." I deflated. "This was another part of the deal."

"I thought you were my friend."

"I'm up at noon for you, Kagome. I'm a _great _friend." Erin smirked and I rolled my eyes. "I'll see you later."

"Yeah, yeah. Make sure you roll the windows down before you fall asleep. And lock the doors."

"Yes, _Mom," _Erin exaggerated. "I'm not stupid."

"Just forgetful."

Erin waved to us over her shoulder as she headed back towards the parking lot.

"She really needs her nap," Ayame explained, watching Erin stomp away. "She's been grumpy all day."

"Shall we go in now?" A voice in my head kept nagging me to get to Inuyasha as soon as possible and who was I to ignore it? "I'm kind of hungry now, too." Ayame and Sango shared knowing looks and grinned at each other. "What?"

"Are you hungry for food or Inuyasha?" I shoved them both to the side and they cackled. "Be honest, Kagome."

"Shut up."

-x-

After Ginta, Hakkaku, and Inuyasha practically ate three food trucks completely out of supplies, we stopped by a few game booths where Inuyasha actually tried to win me the stuffed panda bear I wanted. I thought that was going to be his breakthrough, that he would build up enough confidence to ask me out, but he lost. And the fact that Kouga won Ayame three prizes in a row didn't exactly make things better.

And then I got called away to handle issues with people not showing up for their shift at the pie booth and by the time I patched that up, Inuyasha already disappeared into the mob of people. Needless to say, my Saturday wasn't off to the best start.

"I thought you were boycotting him," Bank said, shoving a handful of cotton candy into his mouth. He came late and was the only one of my friends I could find after the pie booth fiasco. So far he has done nothing but blow his money at every food stand we passed. "That's what Sango told me."

"I was bluffing."

"Shouldn't you have at least tried to ignore him a little longer?" Bank raised a brow at me. "When girls do that it makes us think we did something wrong."

"Where were you earlier when I needed advice?"

"Sleeping." I rolled my eyes and Bank laughed. "Where are we going anyways?"

"My shift for the dunk booth is about to start so we're headed over there."

"What!" Bank stopped walking and I looked back at him over my shoulder. "I have to get my camera. I promised the yearbook staff I'd get a lot of pictures."

"Please," I begged him, "be a real best friend and save me from the humiliation, just this once."

"You mean like when you showed everyone the video of me dancing in my car when you happened to see me at that one intersection?" I snorted at just the thought of it and Bank frowned. "That's exactly why I'm going to get my camera."

"Oh, come _on." _I hung on Bank's shoulder, pleading and he shook me off. "That was two years ago. You need to let go."

"I'm going to get my camera," I started to whine and Bank pushed me away, "and you can go to the dunk booth."

"_Bankotsu…"_

"Here." Bank gave me his stick of cotton candy. "As an early apology."

I frowned at the cotton candy. "Why do you hate me?"

"When you look back at your yearbook twenty years from now, you'll look at all the pictures I took of you and laugh. I'm doing this for all the wonderful memories you'll have later in life." I stared at him, unconvinced. "I'll see you later, Kagome."

"Bye, jerk." I watched him jog back down the hill we were climbing and then continued on my way to my impending doom.

When I finally reached the top of the hill where the dunk tank was, the area was overflowing with people. Clearly, I had missed out on this being advertised as the carnival's main event. I could see just about all of the Morning Ribbet cast and crew waiting in line. Joy.

I spotted a head of silver hair in the crowd of spectators and immediately made a beeline for it. As I got closer to Inuyasha, I was able to see Ayame and Sango pointing to the line and whispering in his ear.

Nothing good ever came from Sango whispering in others' ears.

"Hey!" I shouted when I was close enough and they all turned back to look at me.

"Hey," Ayame smiled as I stood next to them. "Did you settle the pie booth dispute?"

"Yeah, we just made up a new volunteer list with staff members we know are actually here." I smiled at Inuyasha. "Hey."

"'Sup."

"So…" Sango was biting back a smile as she looked at me. "Did you check out the long line of people waiting to dunk you?"

"Yeah…" I trailed off as more than the Morning Ribbet crew began looking familiar. "God," I mumbled. "Why do a lot those guys look _extremely _familiar?"

"It's because you dated just about all of them," Sango pointed out and my stomach dropped.

"No," I protested, shaking my head. "There is no way I could have dated all those guys, that's just…" I was actually starting to recognize them, but the line was so _long. _"Nope. Can't be them."

"Well, it is," Ayame confirmed. "We counted and they're all there. All thirty of them. We were filling Inuyasha in just before you got here."

"Thirty!" My eyes popped out of my head. "I didn't… _thirty?_"

"You've clearly forgotten how promiscuous your high school years have been," Sango said and I glared at her as she pointed to a guy in jeans and a bright yellow shirt in the middle of the line. "That's Kenji, the guy you dumped because he wasn't committed to the relationship and was only in it for the sex. And behind him," Sango said, pointing to the guy with short brown hair, "would be Daisuke. We all thought he was a keeper, but according to Kagome, he was too much of a suck up," Sango said, turning to Inuyasha who I just remembered was there. Listening to my dating history.

Shit.

"And there's Romeo!" Ayame shouted, pointing to the back of the line. "He was so romantic, but he made the mistake of serenading Kagome at her window and Kagome doesn't really appreciate mushy stuff. Or being woken from her sleep with off tune singing."

"Ken was too forward," I mumbled, trying to defend myself, using "Romeo's" real name. He was sweet but not the type of guy I pictured growing old with. I didn't want an _extremely _sensitive guy like Ken. The balcony scene just seemed like the perfect reason to break it off with him.

"And then there's Benny the Bum with the green Mohawk," Ayame pointed out. She really loved to use nicknames. "Kagome said he only went out with her because he needed someone to mooch off of."

That one was actually true.

"Kagome!" Bank shouted as he ran up to us, camera draped around his neck. "You've got my buddy Promise Ring turning against you and, since I'm good friends with both of y'all, I can't be asked to pick a side."

"But we're best friends."

"But I don't have many guy friends. I have to try to keep the few I have." I frowned at him and he shrugged. "I gave you my cotton candy."

"Promise Ring?" Inuyasha asked.

"My friend Webb," Bank clarified for Inuyasha's sake. "Made the mistake of bringing out the promise ring on the second date. Kagome dropped him like a bad habit."

"He moved too fast," I mumbled again.

"It's Niran!" Sango shouted, pointing to her favorite out of the bunch. I never understood why she liked the mysterious poet so much. "They—"

"Were better off as friends," Ayame and Bank finished together for Sango with an eye roll.

"Of course, they're not even friends now, so…"

"Please," I begged Bank, "shut up."

"Wow," Inuyasha said not looking away from the long line of ex-boyfriends. "That's… a lot."

What did he think of me now? He believed I didn't have a sex addiction, but with all these boyfriends from the past lined up to get their revenge, I really looked like a slut. It's not like I could tell him that I only went out with all these guys because I wanted a replacement for Dai since…

"So wait," Inuyasha said, shaking his head to clear his thoughts. "Kagome hasn't been dumped by any of these guys?"

Bank snorted. "Hell will freeze over the day Kagome gets dumped."

"Geez, Kagome," Inuyasha mumbled looking at me. He was smiling but didn't seem genuinely happy. "You're—"

"Look!" Ayame pointed to a tall red head, his hair untamed and standing up in a perfectly effortless way. "It's Renji."

"Isn't he three years older than us?" Sango squinted at him. "Why is he even here?"

"He really wants revenge on Kagome, obviously."

"Or he could be here to beg for her back," Bank mumbled under his breath and we all glared at him. "What! You all know it's a highly probable possibility."

"Shut _up_."

"Why are you so mean to me today?"

"What happened with him?" Inuyasha asked and we all fell silent.

"It was just a really intense relationship," I finally spoke up. "I was only sixteen and it was too much."

"You know how people say they got their heart broken?" Bank asked Inuyasha and he nodded his head. "Yeah, well Kagome _shredded _this guy. She like—"

"It's not like I intentionally meant to do it," I defended myself. Bank was making me out to be some kind of man-eater. "And there are some real assholes in that line who shouldn't be there. Ryuuji? Yamato? Dai?" Dai, as in Douchebag Dai, the farthest thing from Bulletman Dai. "I should be getting revenge on _them. _And why is Raiden even in line? We're actually friends."

"I genuinely believe there is some secret society for all your exes and showing up here is like confirming their allegiance to the brotherhood," Ayame confessed, Sango and Bank nodded their heads in agreement.

"Kagome!" Thankfully, Ms. Kido decided to interrupt the conversation then, waving her clipboard above her head to get my attention. "Let's not keep the young men waiting!"

"Okay!" I shouted back and Ms. Kido nodded her head.

"If she wasn't married…"

"So, I gotta go," I told them, already walking away. I was more than ready to run away from the look of shock that had yet to leave Inuyasha's face. "I'll see you later."

-x-

Hojo was at the front of the line, glaring at me as he tossed one of the balls up and down in his hand. Honestly, these guys were being just a tad bit immature. People break up _all the time_. It's like the circle of life: you date, you break up, you _get over it._

Hojo got into his pitcher's stance and narrowed his eyes at the target. I was hoping that, despite being the baseball team's star pitcher, Hojo would miss.

As Hojo reeled his arm back, I caught sight of Ayame whispering to Inuyasha in the distance. His eye started to twitch as Ayame pointed to the line. God what was she telling him—

_Splash!_

I was instantly dropped into the tank of _freezing _water. When I surfaced, spitting out water—which tasted _horrible, _by the way—the entire line of my ex-boyfriends were laughing. They probably thought I looked like a swamp monster with so much hair in my face.

I pulled myself back up to the plank I was sitting on and pushed my hair out of my face. Hojo was smirking at me, his next ball ready and aimed.

Note2Self: No more baseball players.

-x-

"Hey, Kagome," Sango grinned when I walked up to them, unbelievably drenched. My biggest mistake this morning was forgetting to bring spare clothes. And a towel. "How was it?"

"Did you know all my exes would be lined up to dunk me? I feel like you planned it just to get a good laugh."

"I did not plan it, but I had a feeling it might happen." I moved to punch her shoulder, but she dodged. "Violence is not the answer."

"I can't believe I _missed _it," Erin groaned. She glared at Ginta and Hakkaku. "I gave you _one_ job: wake me up when Kagome goes to the dunking booth. God, you idiots chose some stupid trampoline thing over me!" She raised her hand to hit them and they both flinched, ducking out of her short reach. "I can't believe you two!"

"We waited in line for an hour to do flips on the trampoline with the harness. We couldn't leave when we were almost at the front."

"Yeah," Ginta agreed with his brother. "And we tried calling Kouga and Inuyasha, but they wouldn't pick up."

"I was in line for rock climbing," Kouga defended himself. "And dog boy was moping in a dark corner about Kagome's long line of ex-boyfriends."

"Shut up," Inuyasha hissed, punching Kouga in the shoulder hard enough to move him over a couple of feet.

"You are all completely useless to me," Erin seethed, shaking her head. "She was up there for an hour! Was there no time for you to get me within that hour?"

"Well, we forgot after a while…"

"I'm going to—"

"Rather than dwell on the upsets of today," Ayame cut in, always the mediator, "Let's go find something to do. We have some time to burn before you guys have to perform."

"Oh! One of the food trucks is selling shrimp tacos," Bank announced and Miroku nodded his head. "They smelled really good."

"Have you two just been going around eating all day?"

Bank and Miroku looked at each other and shrugged. "Pretty much."

"You're going to get fat," I told them and Bank rolled his eyes.

"Unlike you, Kagome, I give a hundred percent effort when I workout so I _won't _get fat."

"Just wait and see."

"Whatever you say. But seriously, can we go eat some tacos? I'm starving."

"Children in Africa are starving. You're—"

"I'm greedy for food so let's go." Bank waved us all in the direction of the shrimp taco truck. "Hurry up before they run out of ingredients."

"But I really wanted to do some of the obstacle courses," Ayame whined. She pulled on Kouga's arm. "Will you come with me?"

"Uh…" Kouga looked longingly after Bank and Miroku as they skipped away. "After we eat?"

"But you're always tired after you eat."

"I promise I won't get tired," Kouga sighed. "Come on."

"Hey." Inuyasha stopped me as I followed the rest of the group, tugging at the back of my shirt. "Don't you want to change?"

"Yeah, but I didn't bring any other clothes with me." Inuyasha raised a brow. "I was too stressed about making sure everything was set up on time"—and the fact that Inuyasha failed to ask me out yesterday—"to remember extra clothes."

"Do you at least have a towel?"

"I'll air dry."

"I can't believe you forgot to bring a change of clothes."

"I can't believe you were jealous of my exes," I shot back and Inuyasha's face went up in flames, making me laugh. "You have nothing to worry about though," I promised him, resting my hand on his shoulder. "They weren't very serious relationships." But that made me sound like a floozy. "I mean—"

"Sango!" Ms. Kido's voice called out over the crowd as she was made her way over to us, clipboard clutched in her right hand. "Where have you been? The pie booth has been waiting for you over ten minutes!"

"The pie booth?" Sango looked confused. "Are you sure that's right?"

"Your name is on the list for the five o'clock shift," Ms. Kido said, consulting her clipboard. "Yes, Sango Tanaka. Says so right here."

"But I didn't sign up for the pie booth."

"Really?" I gave Sango a wide-eyed look "You mean the same way I didn't volunteer for the dunk tank?"

Sango's eyes narrowed. "That's low."

"Somebody has to pay for the fact that I'm soaking wet right now," I shrugged. "You're the one most responsible for my current condition."

"You did forget to bring clothes," Kouga reminded everyone. "And a towel."

"That's irrelevant."

"Hurry up, Sango," Ms. Kido called out, beginning to walk away from us. "There's a long line of people wanting to pay to throw a pie at you before the concert starts."

"Joy," Sango grumbled as she trudged off in the direction of the pie booth. She glared over her shoulder at me. "I am definitely going to get you back for this."

"Uh-huh." I watched Sango's retreating back for a few seconds before turning back to the rest of my friends. "Do you want to throw a pie in Sango's face?"

"I want tacos…"

"Yes!" Ayame cried out, almost too enthusiastic. "What?" she asked, having caught my confused stare. "Do you know how many times she's tried putting my name in that damn column of hers? If it weren't for you vetoing all those articles, my personal life would be all over the frickin' school."

"That's right," Inuyasha agreed. "I still owe her for putting me in her column that week. I swear, I was being stalked by ten girls."

"I think you're over exaggerating."

"No, I counted," Inuyasha insisted and I rolled my eyes. "But why wasn't my personal information kept out of the paper?" Inuyasha asked, looking at me. "Why didn't you veto that article from being published?"

"What?" I pretended to be confused, faking ignorance, but InuYasha wasn't impressed. "Well it was either publish news about the new transfer student or the latest break-up which just so happened to be mine."

"I get it," Inuyasha nodded. "I was just being used again."

"That's right, I only use you when you're convenient." I smiled at the false expression of hurt Inuyasha wore on his face then laughed, grabbing his wrist. "Come on. I don't want there to be a long line when we get there and for Sango's shift to be over by the time it's our turn." I started dragging Inuyasha towards the pie booth as Erin and Ayame walked ahead of us, followed by Bank and Miroku and the wolves of Midnight Blues bringing up the rear. "It'll ruin the whole point of signing her up in the first place."

By the time we reached the pie booth—which was only a table stacked with aluminum pans of pie crust, plenty of whipped cream cans and a chair set in front of a black backdrop—fifteen people were in line, all seeming eager to pay a dollar to pie Sango. I assumed they were all victims of Sango's gossip column and sought revenge.

We spent ten minutes waiting in line and being a "captive" audience for the beginning of a verbal war between Inuyasha and Kouga. Now that we were at the front I could see Sango was covered from head to toe in whipped cream. At least she maintained good posture.

"Did a lot of people want revenge on you because of the column?" I asked as Inuyasha paid his dollar and started filling a pan with whipped cream, choosing to make his own pie with more whipped cream.

Sango glared at me through the glop of whipped cream that clung to her eyelashes. "I hate you."

"I was just returning the love you showed me."

"Don't be so generous next time. Really."

"Hey dogturd, don't screw up and miss her face," Kouga told Inuyasha as he got ready to throw. "Like when you tried to win a prize for Kagome at that bottle game and royally fucked up. Don't want a repeat of that episode."

"No, it's okay," Sango assured Inuyasha. "You can royally fuck this up. I promise I'll forgive you."

Inuyasha glared at Kouga. "Would you shut the hell up?"

"What?" Kouga feigned innocence. "What did I do? Oh, were you embarrassed that I—"

"For the love of God!" Erin cut in. "Would you throw the pie? I want my shot at Sango, too."

"What!" Sango gawked at Erin in disbelief. "But I never even tried to write you into the column!"

"I know, but I missed my chance to dunk Kagome in a tub of water since _someone"—_Erin glared at Hakkaku and Ginta who made a point to find great interest in the clouds—"didn't wake me up from my nap, so you'll just have to be my consolation prize."

"Wow," Sango deadpanned. "I feel so special."

"…wipe your ass up and down the damn park, flea bag." Apparently Inuyasha and Kouga found yet another reason to verbally abuse each other while I wasn't paying attention. I think they both just liked to hear themselves talk.

"I'd like to see you try, dogbreath."

"'Try?" Inuyasha laughed. "I can promise you that my foot will be so far up—"

"Inuyasha," I politely interjected. "Can you please just throw the pie so I can have my turn?"

"Mine, too!" Ayame agreed and Erin nodded her head vigorously.

"I hate _all _of you."

"Please?" I asked, batting my eyelashes for extra effect.

Inuyasha looked between me, Ayame, and Erin before finally sucking his teeth. "Keh. Since you're all so vengeful."

"Bullshit," Kouga scoffed. "You're so whipped and you're not even dating her because you—"

It happened so fast it almost played out in slow motion. It was fast in the way that I didn't see it coming. But, as InuYasha spun on his heel and pied Kouga in the face, it was moved in slow motion as the action that initiates chaos always does.

"There." Inuyasha squashed the pan on Kouga's face, turning it side to side and smearing the whipped cream all over. Once he was satisfied he let the pan fall to the ground. "White looks good on you."

I just stood there, stunned.

Kouga, like the rest of us, was too shocked to move for a second before he wiped the whipped cream off his face, glaring at Inuyasha. "You asshole."

Kouga grabbed a pie that had already been made by Kazumi, the sophomore reporter in charge of the booth, and threw it at Inuyasha. Inuyasha ducked out of the way and I was too slow to dodge the pie and it hit me smack on the side of my head, whipped cream clogging my left ear.

No really, being soaked from head to toe wasn't enough for me; please, _please _throw pies at me too.

"You jerk!" I grabbed a pie from the table and aimed for Kouga. "I'm already soaking wet!"

"Blame your boyfriend for ducking."

"We're not dating!" My aim sucked so somehow my pie curved and hit Ayame after Erin jumped out of the way. "Crap."

"Kagome!" Ayame wiped whipped cream out of her eyes and Erin started cracking up. Ayame ran to get a pie and I ran to use Ginta as coverage, gripping the back of his shirt to keep him still.

"Keep me out of this!" Ginta cried, trying to break free from my grasp as Ayame aimed the pie towards us. "I just bought this shirt—" Ayame's pie hit him in the shoulder, barely missing my face. "—yesterday… Dammit!"

"No, you have to pay for that!" Kazumi protested, trying to stop Ginta as he grabbed another pie off the table. "You owe me a—" Kazumi's voice was cut off when Kouga's pie hit her in the face, missing Inuyasha as he ran behind her. "Alright, screw this." Kazumi grabbed a pie—_without _paying—and started after Kouga.

And so the pie fight started. Miroku joined in after Kouga used him as a shield against a pie Ayame threw at him because Kouga thought it was hilarious to smother a whipped cream all over her hair. Erin got involved when she caught Sango trying to make a break from her pie booth duty and decided to stop her, nailing her right in the center of her back. Sango tried running away from the pie fight anyway, but after seeing Miroku try to grope Kazumi while she aimed a pie at Kouga, she got pissed and joined in. Hakkaku was hit for laughing at his brother's misfortune and Bank came in after I threw a pie at him for just standing on the sidelines, snapping pictures for the yearbook with a shit eating grin.

Some random kid screamed, "PIE FIGHT!" and people who weren't worried about their hair or clothes or having their pie-covered faces featured in the yearbook and next week's edition of _Shikon Times _came in the masses, filling pie crust with whipped cream as fast as possible before aiming at the closest target.

_Damn, _I thought as I tackled Inuyasha to the ground, catching him off guard and straddling his stomach. I shoved a pie right on his face. _I'm on clean-up duty._

"That's for dodging earlier," I told Inuyasha as he wiped whipped cream off his face. "Thanks for sacrificing me."

Inuyasha smirked. "No problem." I smeared whipped cream from his bangs into his face before rolling off him. "I didn't say you had to get off."

"I figured I was overstaying my welcome in your personal bubble," I answered, surprised at how well I was able to suppress the heat from my cheeks. "Besides, I can't get too close to the enemy."

"Then let's form an alliance." Inuyasha suggested getting off the ground. "I, Inuyasha Takahashi, promise to—"

"Noooo!" Aki objected, seeming to have materialized from thin air. Aki smashed a pie over the top of Inuyasha's head.

"What the hell…?"

"Don't do it," Aki begged me, stepping in front of Inuyasha as Inuyasha pulled the pan off his head. "Don't form an alliance with him—I've known you longer!"

"Jesus, Aki," I rolled my eyes, but smiled at the stupid grin on Aki's face. "Don't be such a drama queen."

"That's it!" I turned my head as soon as I heard Erin scream and saw her pointing a finger at the twins. Judging by the two fresh splotches of whipped cream on the back and front of her head, they must have teamed up and sandwiched her face. "You two are on set-up and clean-up duty for the next fifty gigs!"

"You can't do that," Ginta protested. "That's cheating!"

"There aren't any rules!"

"And I let you copy off my science test last week," Hakkaku added. "Have some mercy."

"I failed that test!" We had this theory Hakkaku purposely flunked his senior year last year so Erin wouldn't have to survive in their high school alone, but there was a slight chance that we overestimated Hakkaku's intelligence. "Besides," Erin started, crossing her arms over her chest, "we're all out of pies so this is my new plan of attack."

"That's bullshit!"

I looked around, confirming the fact that all the pies were gone. There were still a few people spraying each other with whipped cream straight from the cans and other people laughed in the aftermath of the war. Some people were taking turns giving each other whipped cream shots. I was trying to think of a way to collect the money that everyone was supposed to pay. My mind was pretty blank.

"Well then, it looks like I can't form an alliance with either of you since the war's come to an end."

"Damn." Aki snapped his fingers. "I thought this was my chance to get to know you better, too."

"Uh-huh. Did you take a lot of pictures?"

"Yes ma'am," Aki saluted me, standing at attention. "But you really let me down today. A couple of guys were willing to pay a lot of money for a shot of you at the dunking booth in a white t-shirt, but you ruined it by wearing that blackt-shirt."

"I can't say I'm sorry."

"I didn't think you would." Aki looked at Inuyasha. "Women are such insensitive creatures." Inuyasha stared at Aki like he had three heads. "So about this clean-up duty…" Aki eased out, looking up at the sky instead of me.

"You're still on it," I told him and he groaned. "And remember anybody who took part in the pie fight too, because I need to collect money from them. And they're also going to help clean up this mess."

"I'll start taking pictures of the culprits." Aki walked towards the group of people who hadn't fled the scene. "See you tomorrow!"

I waved to Aki as he left. When I turned back to Inuyasha he was giving me a questioning look.

"And he is…"

"He's one of the photographers, Aki," I explained. "He comes second only to Miroku in the womanizing department. And also like Miroku, he's completely harmless." I looked over to Inuyasha as we started heading towards Erin who seemed to have won the argument against Ginta and Hakkaku. "You know him. He was the announcer for the Odd Ball Olympics."

"Oh, right. _Him." _Inuyasha nodded his head. "He made the comment about your swimsuit."

"And every other girls' swimsuit," I reminded him. "That's just Aki."

"Yet another pervert, I see." Inuyasha shook his head. "Where do you find your friends?"

"School." I grinned at him. "Quite the environment, right?"

Inuyasha just laughed.

"Alright guys, since Inuyasha decided to start a food fight, you all need to get cleaned up as fast as possible so we can start setting up on stage." Erin was already giving orders by the time we joined the group. "You can rinse off in the bathroom sinks and since I'm the genius I—Kouga!"

Kouga had his arms wrapped around Ayame's waist and was eating the whipped cream off her face and neck. "What?"

"Calm it down for a second and _listen." _Kouga rolled his eyes, but stopped licking his girlfriend's face anyways, resting his chin on Ayame's shoulder. "Because I'm a genius and I'm always prepared, I made sure you all had a change of clothes and they're all in the Band Van. So hurry up and get ready. I can't have a bunch of bums performing on stage, even if we're doing this for free." Erin clapped her hands twice. "So let's move! You've got twenty minutes."

Kouga kissed Ayame goodbye while Ginta and Hakkaku took off running for the Band Van, clearly in fear of Erin. Inuyasha stayed behind, talking about the set list with Erin, wanting to make changes in her well thought-out plans.

I looked down and observed my own clothing. After sitting on the plank for a good hour, I was still soaking wet and now I was covered in whipped cream. All that was missing was a cherry on top of my head. Yeah, then I'd be a complete hot mess. Cold mess.

"I should have brought a change of clothes, too," I mumbled, holding out the edge of my shirt.

"You knew you were going in the dunk tank and you didn't bring a change of clothes?" Ayame asked. "Are you crazy?"

"I was bit frazzled and half asleep when I left my house this morning so a change of clothes was the last thing on my mind." I looked down at my wet and whipped cream covered body again. Damn. "Do you have a change of clothes?"

"Nope," Ayame shook her head. "I'm letting Kouga clean me off."

"Ewww…" I cringed, scrunching up my nose. "I think you and I need to discuss the meaning of too much information_._"

"Whatever," Ayame laughed, but I was dead serious. I got way too many glimpses into Ayame's sex life. "I'll go find Sango to see if she has a change of clothes for you."

"Thanks." I watched Ayame disappear into the crowd then allowed my surroundings to sink in. As editor-in-chief, I could remove myself from clean-up duty without being criticized, right?

"You can wear my gym shirt." I looked up at Inuyasha. "To change your clothes," he clarified."I forgot to take my gym bag into the house the other day so my shirt should still be in there."

"You're going to lend me your gym shirt?" I asked, arching my brows. "Your _sweaty _and _stinking _gym shirt?"

"I'm pretty sure all the sweat's dried up now." I fought the urge to gag. That was _not _a selling point. "It's better than the sopping wet shirt you have on now."

And the shirt probably smelled like him…

"Fine," I relented. "But if it smells musty I'm not putting it on."

I followed Inuyasha back to his car and waited as he dug his gym bag out of the back seat and unzipped it.

"Alright..." Inuyasha dug around in his gym bag and I waited patiently, shivering in my wet shirt with my arms crossed over my chest. "Here you go." Inuyasha tossed me the longsleeved gym shirt he had on Wednesday and I caught it, holding it away from my wet body. "Is that good enough for you?"

I sniffed the shirt, nearly gagging. "Uh, no." I held the shirt back out for him to take. "I think your dried up sweat added a real... _unique _addition to what a shirt is supposed to smell like."

"Well, sorry my BO offends you so much." Inuyasha stuffed his shirt back in his gym bag and tossed it in the bed of his truck.

"I was just kidding. Kind of." Inuyasha gave me a blank stare over his shoulder and I threw my hands up in defense. "Would you prefer that I lie to you?"

"That'd be better than having BO."

"You don't have BO, your shirt is just dried up with sweat. It's not something I really want to walk around in. People may think _I _have bad BO." Inuyasha leaned back against his car and crossed his arms over his chest. "It's called honesty, appreciate it."

"Maybe another day."

"Okay, putting _your _issues aside, what the am I going to wear?"

Inuyasha looked me up and down. "Looks like you're wearing a wet t-shirt."

"Shut up." I shoved Inuyasha to the side and he laughed. "I hope Ayame finds Sango soon and Sango actually has clothes." I wrapped my arms around me as a gust of wind blew and I shivered. "Now I'm wet _and _it's getting cold."

"Hold on, I might have something else for you." He opened the back door again and leaned in; after a few seconds of shifting all his CDs, he emerged with a hoodie. He sniffed it before handing it to me this time. "I think it's good."

Though Inuyasha's nose was ten times stronger than mine, I smelled the hoodie for myself, overwhelmed by the scent of Inuyasha's soap. Natural and woodsy and perfect.

I grinned up at him. "This is perfect."

"Really?" A smile spread across his face. "Cool. Well, uh, you can change out of your shirt in my car and I'll wait for you. I promise I won't look."

"Thanks." I climbed into Inuyasha's truck, checked one more time to make sure he wasn't looking, then pulled my t-shirt over my head. It felt amazing to not have the shirt stick to my stomach anymore. I pulled Inuyasha's hoodie on and the soft fabric instantly soothed my goose-bumped flesh. Honestly, I think I'm in heaven right now.

"It looks good on you," Inuyasha nodded, giving me a once over as I climbed back out the car.

"Should I keep it then?" I teased and Inuyasha blushed.

"Yeah." Inuyasha smiled at me and my face went blank at the implication. "It's all yours."

-x-

_Hehehehe. Yeah… _

_I'm way too happy for words right now._

-X-

**It's finally done! Sorry it took so long, but the editing process was longer than we intended. So any thoughts, comments, suggestions? All would be delightful to read in your **_REVIEWS!_** Tomorrow I leave for college which is going to be extremely stressful for me and may lead to a nervous breakdown so some reviews would be great to see. **

**And, because I was extremely bored at some point this summer I made a **tumblr page for this story**. Lots of deleted scenes, backstories, previews, recacps, fun little things—you should definitely check it out. The **link is on my profile**. I'm going to post a quick backstory about one of Kagome's exes (Yamato, who received a shout in this chapter) right now actually.**

**Please review, check out the page—all that jazz. So sorry it took so long!**

**~Kimiko888~**

_It only took me __**forever **__and a day to finish this. We've had these chapters done for a while, and I'm pretty sure I have a paper edit of the next chapter somewhere in my binder of paper-edits so hopefully I'll be able to make those edits soon. Well, actually, within the next few days. Before all this crazy stuff starts happening for school. Because it's back again. Dammit._

_~hanmajoerin_


	17. Tingling

**Disclaimer: the two of us are story writers, not musicians. All songs used/borrowed(?) throughout Walking Tightropes belong to their respective artists. This chapter features songs from My Chemical Romance and Fall Out Boy. Also, InuYasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi and Erin and Yaten belong to hanmajoerin.**

**Songs (in order): Party Poison - My Chemical Romance, This Ain't a Scene, It's An Arms Race - Fall Out Boy, Planetary Go - My Chemical Romance**

**Walking Tightropes**

**Chapter 17: Tingling**

_Woah. Did you feel that? My I'm-So-Into-You senses are tingling._

-X-

"Hey, hey!" I reached out to grab the back of Aki's shirt as he walked by the picnic table I was sitting on. Unsurprisingly enough his camera was focused on some girl of absolutely no significance (to what the paper needed; I never met her so I had no right to call her worthless.) "See the stage over there? Yeah, I want pictures of that, not your usual collage of girls."

"Aye aye, captain," Aki saluted me, but the second I let go of his shirt he started walking right back towards that girl so I yanked him back over.

"Sit," I ordered, pointing to the spot on the table next to me. "I need to supervise you when you take pictures."

"But, Kagome..." Aki started to whine, "Don't you think I've taken enough pictures for the day? This thing has been glued to my eye 24/7! Just let me have my fun."

"Aki, you're on the newspaper as a photographer and photographers take pictures of relative material. A girl's ass is not relative to the paper."

"That's a matter of opinion."

"That's a matter of fact." Aki had a look of disagreement on his face, but climbed up on the table anyway. "Once you get about fifteen good pictures of the concert for me, I'll let you go."

Aki muttered something under his breath as he messed around with the settings on his camera, but I didn't care enough to demand to know what he was saying and Erin was approaching, still covered in whipped cream.

"Smile!" Aki called out to her and Erin, for whatever reason, stopped and posed like an Egyptian while Aki snapped the picture. "That's one down, fourteen to go."

"I said of the_ concert." _Stupid Aki. I turned to Erin as she took a seat on the bench of the picnic table. "You didn't go to get changed yet?"

"Nope," Erin shook her head. "You'd be surprised at just how much stuff a manager has to do because all the band members are lazy, irresponsible, and forgetful dumbasses." Erin sighed and rubbed her temples. "But, I got it all taken care of now, you know, because I'm a _genius. _What's with your new threads?" Erin asked, motioning to Inuyasha's sweatshirt. "If I'm not mistaken, that's Inuyasha's hoodie," she said with a raise of her brows.

"It is," I confirmed, my cheeks almost cracking from my grin. "It's to replace my wet shirt."

"I see," Erin said, stroking her chin and I rolled my eyes.

"It doesn't really mean anything."

"Right, because so many high school boys are nice enough to give girls articles of their clothing." Erin nodded her head for a second before giving me a look that asked if I thought she was stupid. "Your ability to be in denial when everything is so freaking obvious never ceases to amaze me."

"I'm just an amazing person." Erin shook her head just as I noticed Ayame approaching with an all cleaned up Sango who was carrying a funnel cake from the food booth Kikyo's dad set up.

"Smile!" Sango struck a pose while Ayame covered her still pie-covered face with her hands.

"I found Sango for you, but she used her change of clothes for herself," Ayame explained as the two sat across the picnic table from Erin. Sango set her funnel cake in the middle of the table but slapped Aki's hand away when he reached for some. "It seems like you found yourself something to wear after all though."

"It's Inuyasha's," Erin told them and Ayame's eyebrows shot up while Sango's eyes widened as she sucked powdered sugar off her thumb and forefinger. "Yeah, I know. You're still a mess though."

"Did Kouga not have enough time to lick you clean?" I asked and Ayame blushed while Aki's head snapped around.

"He had to rinse off and get dressed and then he and Inuyasha got into some stupid argument when they were supposed to be loosening up. He lost all his appeal after he started talking about assholes and dickheads." Ayame rolled her eyes. "Dumbasses, really. Oh, and Bank told me to tell you goodbye. Renkotsu's coming home from college this weekend and the whole family is having dinner together so he had to leave."

"You know," Aki started, giving what he thought to be a sexy smirk to Ayame, "if this Kouga guy is so unavailable, I'll be happy to take over his job and lick that whipped cream off you."

Erin stared at Aki like he was insane. "Who is this guy?"

"If Kouga heard you right now, you'd be broken in half like a pretzel stick," Sango told Aki.

"This is Aki," I introduced him to Erin. "He's a photographer for the paper and a pervert."

"And no," Ayame answered Aki, "you can't even _touch _me."

"Why is Aki here again?" Sango asked me.

"Because he can't be trusted to take good pictures of the concert without supervision," I explained. "I caught him while he was chasing after a random girl."

"She's actually in my photography class," Aki defended himself, pouting. "And if you're so concerned about your precious pictures, why don't you take them?"

"Because—"

"Because things with lots of buttons overwhelm Kagome and she might take too many snapshots of Inuyasha, revealing something she's trying very hard–and failing –to keep hidden."

"Thanks for your two cents, Sango," I mumbled and she just grinned at me.

"Speak of the devil." Erin nodded at Inuyasha in the distance as she pinched off a piece of funnel cake and popped it in her mouth. "Here comes Kagome's Prince Charming."

I rolled my eyes but smiled and waved at Inuyasha as he jogged over. "I thought you guys were going to perform in"—I looked down at my phone screen—"eight minutes."

"We are, but I found an extra shirt in the Band Van and grabbed it for Erin." Inuyasha tossed Erin the shirt and she reached out to catch it before it fell to the ground. "Why are you guys all the way back here?"

"Oh, you know," I waved off, "we like to watch you guys from afar."

"Kagome doesn't want to look like a groupie," Sango explained, telling Inuyasha the truth. "The fact that she's wearing your hoodie would only further imply that she's chasing after you."

Well, I _was _going after Inuyasha—I just didn't want to look desperate doing it.

"Actually, it would give off the implication that she's _dating _Inuyasha since she's wearing his clothes while all the other girls are just screaming at him to throw something like a guitar pick at them because they're starved for another kiss." I looked at Aki, surprised to hear something relevant come out of his mouth. "What? It's all just a matter of observation."

"We're not dating," I told Aki and two seconds later I wanted to slap myself. I was supposed to _encourage _the idea of us dating, not shoot it down every time someone mentioned it. "I mean—"

A strangled squeal came from Erin and we all looked at her holding out the shirt Inuyasha had dropped off—she was grinning like a mad woman. The shirt was a black Clap Your Hands Say Yeah t-shirt, and if my memory hadn't completely given out on me, I'm pretty sure that used to be Yaten's shirt. I think he wore it the first time I stopped by Kouga's garage to hear Midnight Blues in the making.

"Oh my word, this is my favorite shirt!" Erin buried her nose in it and when she lifted her head to look at us, her smile was even bigger. "I swear to God, it still smells just like Ya—ummy," Erin said, catching herself."Yummy, like Ginta's cologne."

Yeah, it was Yaten's shirt. I don't really know why Erin hadn't told Inuyasha about Yaten since he was already inducted into our family of friends, but I honestly didn't understand why Erin did half the things she did to begin with. I just took her avoidance of the topic as my sign not to tell Inuyasha about Yaten myself. Who knows, maybe she already planned a time to explain it to him and had no interest in starting an emotional talk with Inuyasha right now, in the middle of a park, right before a performance. Erin hated people seeing her cry too, and bringing up her dead boyfriend— his full story, not just a few pleasant reminders—usually came with tears.

"Ginta doesn't wear cologne," Ayame pointed out and I saw Sango open her mouth to scold Ayame for missing the let's-not-talk-about-Yaten hint, but she caught herself and bit her lip a few seconds too late.

"Yeah," Inuyasha agreed. "And you always complain about how junky their apartment is and how the two of them smell like they've been living in the pigsty that is their apartment."

"I'm pretty sure I never said all that."

Erin actually did. Usually she went on a long rant about the disgustingness of the twins' apartment after crashing on the couch for more than three days.

"Yes you have," Inuyasha pressed. "On numerous occasions."

"Uh, you need to be getting to the stage."

"That's your way of avoiding the question."

"No, that's my way of telling you, you need to get on stage." Erin slapped Inuyasha's butt and he jumped forward a few feet, blushing. "Come on, move it!"

"Don't do that!" Inuyasha yelled at Erin, turning around so she couldn't reach out and do it again. "That's more than a bit uncomfortable."

"Think of it this way: now we're even from Wednesday."

Wednesday?

"That was an accident and you know it!" Inuyasha defended himself. "I would never deliberately do that_._"

_That_? I shared a look with Sango and Ayame, but they were just as much out of the loop as I was.

"Uh-huh, likely story," Erin nodded off, unconvinced. "I'm pretty sure that's what all guys say after they grope some girl's boob. My innocence was ruined!"

A ruined innocence and a boob. Yeah, I've definitely heard enough of this conversation.

"No, Erin was complaining about how confusing her math homework was when we were taking a break from practice on Wednesday and I was just going to pat her on the shoulder," Inuyasha hurried to explain, shooting glances my way, but I didn't do much to acknowledge them. "But then just as I was reaching out, she started standing up and I touched it for like a _second. _Erin's completely over exaggerating the story."

"No, Inuyasha is under exaggerating it." Erin pointed an accusing finger at Inuyasha. "That boy is a pervert!"

"Don't lump me in the same group as Miroku and that photographer!"

Aki looked up from his camera. "I'm not a pervert, man. I'm just not afraid to show the world that I am one thousand percent straight. You've got to be bold in times like ours."

"Do yourself a favor, Aki, and stop talking," Sango told him. "You're starting to sound too much like Miroku."

As for me, I just laughed because that's what's expected of you in awkward situations. I had a tendency to think irrationally when words like "InuYasha" and "Erin" and "boob" came up and all my thoughts lead to situations where Inuyasha and Erin became much more than friends and that made something stir in the pit of my stomach. It sucked since I knew that it was next to impossible, but it made me feel like an idiot for even letting the idea pass through my mind.

But, when I started thinking along the lines of irrationality (usually triggered by slight bits of jealousy) I learned that it was best to laugh the thoughts away.

"Don't worry, Editor Lady," Aki assured me when it became obvious that I was laughing too long for it to be natural. "I'll touch your boob so you can make it even with Inuyasha."

"If you touch me, I'll kill you."

"I love a girl with sass," Aki grinned cheekily at me, but scooted a few cautious inches away from me.

"Where's Miroku?" Ayame asked Sango, picking off a piece of her funnel cake.

"I don't know. Last time I saw him he was... standing on stage." Sango gaped at the stage and I turned around to see Miroku running back and forth across it, shouting something and flailing his arms around. "That idiot."

"Aki." I snapped my fingers at Aki but he was already standing on the table and snapping pictures. "What the hell is he doing up there?"

"Revealing to the school that he's our Fighting Frog mascot," Ayame answered as Miroku started doing the running man and then the worm, both of which were some of our mascot's signature moves. "Not that it's that much of a secret since there's only a handful of people idiotic enough to take on the job."

"You know, the new school's mascot, the tiger?" Sango asked. "Yeah, he's really giving Miroku a run for his money. The guy did a flip at the football game last week."

"And his head didn't even fall off?"

"Nope. Stuck like glue."

"Kouga paid Miroku ten dollars to run around the stage and pump the crowd up for us," Inuyasha explained, before our talk of mascots went on for too long. "The idea is to have the crowd screaming our name by the time we step on stage so it's like we're making this grand entrance."

"Was this Kouga's idea?"

"Who else would think that way? Of course it was Kouga."

"So Ayame," Sango started looking over to Ayame with a smug expression, "how's your plan to tame Kouga's ego going for you?"

Ayame sighed. "I've learned to just accept it."

"Cop out."

"When I say 'Midnight,' you say 'Blues!'" Miroku was shouting into a wireless microphone that someone had given him, making it possible for us to hear him from all the way back here. "Midnight!"

"BLUES!"

"Midnight!"

"BLUES!"

"Well, it's good to see the crowd actually participating." I turned to look at Inuyasha as Miroku started dividing the crowd in half and getting each half to say one part of the band's name. "I think this is your cue to get back to the stage."

"I'm going, but don't you think you want to walk with me?" Inuyasha asked as if it was the only logical choice available. "Being up in the crowd is way better than sitting back here."

"MIDNIGHT!"

"BLUES!"

"Right, because being in the center of screaming teens that are pressing up against me is exactly what I've always dreamed of." I shook my head at the hopeful look on Inuyasha's face. "You know how I went to your first gig and sat back at the bar? Yeah, that was for a reason."

"And you can't forget about her fear of being considered a groupie," Sango added and I gave her a tight lipped smile as a token of my gratitude.

"Besides," I tossed my arm over Aki's shoulders, "I'm on babysitting duty because this guy has issues with taking significant pictures for the paper and I can't rely on Bank to cover his ass this time."

"I think he's old enough to look after himself, right Aki?"

Aki stared at Inuyasha blankly. "I'm seventeen you know, not seven."

I snorted and removed my arm from Aki's shoulders and sat back on my hands, smiling at Inuyasha. Behind him, Miroku alternated between throwing his hands in the air to get the crowd to scream louder and pointing to each half of the crowed like a conductor. "Maybe next time."

"Can I hold you to that?"

"Yeah."

"Alright then, that's a promise." Inuyasha looked me in the eye for an extra second to confirm this before he finally turned to Erin. "Do you need a piggy back ride to the stage so you can be our tyrant and order us around?"

"Nope." Erin held up her shirt and smiled. "I'm going to go get changed."

"Okay, I'm going to go then." Inuyasha was about to take off in a sprint when he stopped and turned around to face me. "I plan on seeing you after we sing so don't go taking off."

"Darn." I snapped my fingers. "My plan was foiled yet again."

Inuyasha shook his head and then took off towards the stage while Erin gathered her stuff to go get changed in the bathrooms.

"So that's you when you're flirting," Aki spoke up after a while, tossing his arm over my shoulders, his hand dangling just few inches above my breast. "I must say, it's a great honor to watch the queen in action."

I stared at Aki's hand. "Move it or lose it because I can get a hold of a butcher knife."

Aki's hand was gone in a millisecond. "You know, you have a bit too much sass for me."

"And now," Miroku said right into the microphone, drawing my undivided attention, "I finally bring to you, Midnight…" Miroku pointed to the crowd.

"BLUES!"

On cue, the band ran up the side steps of the stage and revealed themselves in the spotlights. The cheering only got louder, but I was pretty sure most of the people never heard of Midnight Blues. I had to give Miroku credit for his ability to pump up a crowd. I am also very grateful for the fact that the band is amazing and can live up to—go _beyond_ the crowd's expectations and I wouldn't get any complaints come Monday.

Kouga walked up to the mic. at center stage then took a moment to smile at the crowd, wink at somebody at the front, and perfect his stage presence face. "Well, obviously, we are Midnight Blues." The crowd greeted him with loud cheering again. "I'm not going to talk for five minutes or anything like that. Let's just get to know each other quick before hopping into the music. It's important to know us first, so you can look us up online, praise us…" Kouga tilted his head down and looked up at the crowd through his lashes, his blue eyes hypnotizing even from my spot all the way in the back, "Love us." Kouga's voice had dropped to a husky tone at that last suggestion and Ayame rolled her eyes.

"It's just his stage presence," she explained to us.

"Yeah, he becomes a complete sex god," Sango mumbled. "Oh wait, he's _always _like that."

"On the drums we have Ginta," Kouga introduced and Ginta waved his drumstick above his head and tapped the cymbals lightly. "His twin brother, Hakkaku, is our bass man," Hakkaku strummed one note, "And on guitar is—"

"INUYASHA!" A group of girls screamed from the front of the crowd and the rest of the crowd went wild. "WE LOVE YOU!"

A flash went off to the side of me and, after blinking away the dancing spots of color, I turned to glare at Aki.

"Really Kagome, we need to use some of these pictures where you're extremely jealous." Aki turned his camera around to show me the picture. "Your eye is twitching and everything in this one. These pictures would make great entertainment." Aki turned to Sango. "I think they could really support some gossip in your column, too."

"They would…"

"The concert, Aki," I cut in, before Sango thought too much about harassing Aki for those pictures. "Take pictures of the _concert."_

"It's a shame, really," Kouga was saying when I tuned back into the band's introduction. "All of you girls have been going crazy over that dipshit when you could have had me." A few girls—a lot, actually—screamed for Kouga, but it didn't even match Inuyasha's. "Unfortunately, I graduated from Shikon already and you missed out on all of this." Kouga lifted his shirt to reveal his rock hard abs, tucking it under his chin and strutting around the stage, motioning to his abs and receiving a deafening cheer from the girls in the crowd while Inuyasha sucked his teeth and rolled his eyes in the background.

"That cocky bastard," Ayame muttered under her breath while I jabbed Aki with my elbow to make sure he got pictures.

"This is so wrong…" Aki frowned at me. "I prefer to take pictures of _women_, Kagome, not men."

"Regardless, sex sells," Erin pointed out as she rejoined us at the table. "The fact that Kouga takes full advantage of that knowledge leads to more fans for Midnight Blues. And now that we have Inuyasha?" Erin smiled deviously. "Our fan base shot up overnight after that first performance with him."

I shook my head. "Shameless."

"Look who's talking," Erin sang out in a sarcastically high know-it-all voice. "How exactly did you get people to place bets for the Odd-Ball Olympics again?"

I hung my head. "Point taken."

"Oh, I want you, too," Kouga said as he finally let his shirt fall. "But, I have a girlfriend and she's definitely the jealous type. I love you, Ayame!" Ayame blushed. "And I'm going to show it to you as soon as we finish up this performance."

Ayame's mouth gaped, and the pretty blush left her face. "I'm going to kill him."

"Well it's not like he plainly said, 'I'm having sex with Ayame'," I reassured her. "Not all people have their minds in the gutter."

"Kagome," Ayame gave me a blank look. "This is high school."

"It's not like you're very discreet about your sex life though," Sango said, dropping the last of the funnel cake into her mouth.

"That's just when I'm talking to my _friends _and it's like a _joke,_" Ayame emphasized. "That idiot went and announced it to the whole damn school!" Ayame crossed her arms and glared at the screen. "To be so blunt about it is… _wrong. _I'm going to kill him."

"We're doing all original songs for this performance, but it's not hard to catch onto the chorus so, and this is an order, start screaming the lyrics as soon as you get them." Kouga was placing the mic. back on its stand while giving directions to the rest of the band when he remembered something. "Oh! And we would like to thank Erin A. Chiba, our outstanding manager, and Kagome Higurashi, editor-in-chief of the _Shikon Times_ for letting us perform here tonight. You can look us up on Twitter, Facebook, Youtube, and for all our information." Kouga looked over his shoulder again for confirmation from the rest of the band. "We are Midnight Blues."

Ginta immediately started up on the drums, jumping into a song I didn't recognize, but Ayame and, of course, Erin knew and wide grins spread on their faces. Ayame grabbed Erin's hand and started dragging her towards the frenzy of a crowd as Inuyasha and then Hakkaku joined in.

"This is _not_ a song to be sitting in the back for," Erin called out over her shoulder as she ran off after Ayame.

Maybe, but I was still fine with sitting on the picnic table.

"Is it just me or did Inuyasha get _better _from the last time we saw him?" Sango listened intently to the music that seemed to get louder and the rhythm Inuyasha was playing a second ago changed and her mouth fell open. "Damn. He's good."

"Amazing."

Kouga bobbed his head to the music, snatching the mic. from its stand. "_Everybody pay attention to me I got the answer, I got the answer: street walking cheetah with a capitol G. So get your hands up, now get your hands up_." Kouga pumped his fist in the air and the entire crowd followed suit, jumping up and down with the beat. I watched Inuyasha the entire time though, my eyes glued to his every move.

"_Hide your eyes we're gonna shine tonight_," Kouga sang, shielding his eyes from the spotlight for only a second. "_Sub-atomic never get the best of me. Ain't a DJ gonna save my soul_!"

"My soul!"The rest of the band shouted into their microphones.

"_I sold it long ago for rock 'n' roll. Drop the needle when the tape deck blows- I gotta shout this out so everybody knows!_"

"Oh shit, I do know this song!" Sango cried out shaking my leg. "They played it at the first gig Inuyasha had with the band. Remember?"

I listened to the song and then thought back to a few weeks ago. "Oh yeah, they did. That was the night you kept saying wild every five seconds because you went and got drunk."

Sango glowered at me. "If you really want to share drunk stories I've got quite a few on you. I'm recalling that one night when you did a dare and—"

"Okay, okay," I cut her off, highly aware of the fact that Aki was staring at the both of us, waiting to hear more. "Point taken."

"Inuyasha would be the first musician I've dated," I told Sango over the music as Kouga sang the second verse, my eyes still trained on Inuyasha. It was harder to look away from him when he was on stage; everything—_everything _—he did on stage screamed perfection.

"I thought you were still waiting for him to ask you out."

I smiled at Inuyasha on stage, huddling deeper into his hoodie. "I just have a feeling."

"And," Aki chimed in, leaning closer to me, "if it happens to go wrong, I wouldn't mind being a rebound."

I grimaced and leaned away from him. "Don't count on it."

-x-

"INUYASHA! WE LOVE YOU!"

This concert was turning out to be, arguably, the best half an hour of the year. If that same chorus of girls from earlier stopped shouting, I wouldn't have had to attach the arguably part to it. Did they not realize how obnoxious they were? Some people actually wanted to hear the music instead of their unattractive, high pitched, witch-like yelling.

"Now look at that," Sango started, leaning closer to me. "All of those girls are up there screaming and cheering for the band." Sango stole a glance at me. "Screaming _Inuyasha's _name."

"Well he deserves it," I shrugged, not willing to give into her games. "He's amazing. A gift from Yaten."

"Who?"

"You can go now, Aki." I dismissed Aki instead of bothering to answer his question. "I think we got—" Aki was gone before I could even finish my sentence. "I didn't think my presence was so horrible."

"Compared to chasing after girls with a camera, your company sucks." Sango slid onto the table to sit next to me, stealing Aki's former seat. "So back to what I was saying: what are you going to do about all those groupies?"

"Nothing. It's not like they're real competition. Unlike them I actually _know _Inuyasha, so my chances are a lot better than theirs."

"I don't know…" Sango kept pushing. "Guys really like girls who support them and that's what they're doing. But what are you doing? Oh, that's right, _nothing."_

"Sango, please," I pleaded just as the guys started up their next song. I was ninety percent sure that if Yaten didn't write it, he was the one who decided to call it "This Ain't a Scene, It's an Arms Race."

"Remember that huge fight Ayame and Kouga got into years ago over what seemed like nothing? Do you remember what that argument was about?" Sango leaned forward so she could look up into my eyes.

I gnawed on my bottom lip. "Yes…" Kouga was mad because Ayame didn't really show up to gigs and treated them like they were nothing which was a big wound to Kouga since he pretty much devoted his life to the band.

"So do you see why Inuyasha might fall for a girl who's not afraid to scream her adoration for him in the middle of a crowd?"

I turned to face Sango. "Why do you do this to me? I was very confident in the thought that Inuyasha would ask me out today—did you really have to make me second guess myself?"

"Aside from my amazing ability to get great gossip before anybody else, I have some kickass matchmaking skills and I'm really liking the image of you and Inuyasha together so I want to accelerate the process as much as possible," Sango answered, leaning back on one hand and examining her nails as if it were nothing. "And I really want to be in the crowd. It's kind of weird to start jumping and head banging outside the mass of people."

I let out a breath of air and thought about it for a second. I did want to be in the crowd with everyone else and have Inuyasha just look up and catch my eye and smile at me, but I also wasn't that fond of tightly clustered groupings. I wasn't claustrophobic or anything I just… didn't like them.

"If you really liked him, you'd put aside your own discomfort to try and make him happy."

"_Fine_." I got off the table and Sango did a victory pump before jumping off the table and following me. "But I'm doing this out of my own will, not because you persuaded me."

"Yeah, yeah, sure," Sango waved me off as she led the way into the crowd of people that were all screaming and jumping around. If I died because I got trampled, I was definitely coming back to haunt Sango since she was the one who talked me into this. "Get your elbows ready; I think Erin and Ayame are at the front of the crowd so we're really going to have to force our way through if we want to catch up with them."

"_All the boys who the dance floor didn't love,_"Kouga breathed out into the mic., taking long breaks in between each phrase to give himself a chance to catch his breath, "_and all the girls whose lips couldn't move fast enough- sing until your lungs give out!_"

I elbowed about five people in the ribs and received three dirty looks as I pushed my way through the crowd when Inuyasha stepped up to his mic. to sing. Kouga was taking a break, throwing his hands up to try to get the rest of the crowd to sing along.

"_This ain't a scene, it's a goddamn arms race. This ain't a scene, it's a goddamn arms race_," Inuyasha sang and I stopped short for a second. He had his eyes closed and he was moving his lips around the mic. in a way that was so unconsciously seductive it made me want to scream. And his voice…

I think I'm in love.

"Now you!" Kouga shouted pointing to the crowd and they sang the lyrics back to him while I continued forcing my way to the front with Sango. Now I really wanted to be able to see Inuyasha up close because even from back here he looked like a million bucks.

"_This ain't a scene, it's a goddamn arms race_," Inuyasha sang again and the same chorus of girls got even louder, screwing up my concentration, again.

"Louder!" Kouga shouted, standing up on an amp and cupping his hand around his ear just as Hakkaku and Inuyasha dropped out. Ginta played a beat on his drums while Kouga, Hakkaku, and Inuyasha all started clapping along, coaxing the crowd to sing the lyrics for them.

"THIS AIN'T A SCENE, IT'S A GODDAMN ARMS RACE! THIS AIN'T A SCENE IT'S A GODDAMN ARMS RACE!"

The rest of the band quickly joined back in as Ginta's tempo immediately increased and the crowd around me started jumping again with their hands raised above them in the air.

"_I'm a leading man_,"Kouga sang, still standing on the amp, "_and the lies I weave are oh so intricate, oh so intricate. I'm a leading man and I lies I weave are oh so intricate, oh so intricate…" _Kouga held the note until the rest of the band came to an end and then he lowered his mic. taking in a big breath and bowing at the same time. When he stood back up he smiled at the crowd. "I'm amazing, right?"

"He means _we're _amazing," Inuyasha corrected him. "Kouga's just average."

"You're lucky Erin even let you sing with your shitty voice."

Sango and I still had a bit of shoving left before we reached the front of the crowd and I was completely determined to reach Ayame and Erin before Kouga and Inuyasha's little spat ended. If we did that I could be front and center by the time the next song started up.

"Okay, before we start our next song the park and organizers of this event would like to remind you to please pick up after yourselves because nobody wants to pick up your crap," Kouga read off a sheet of paper someone had handed him. We were almost at the front. "And anybody who took part in the pie fight is expected to stay after and help clean up." Kouga crumpled the piece of paper and shoved it in his pocket. "Yeah. So, back to important business, this is going to be our second to last song of the night and it is a requirement for everyone to be jumping. If I find one person standing still, you better hope I don't find you after this."

"You can't threaten people, dumbass!" I heard a hiss to my right and I whipped my head around to see Erin glaring up at Kouga on the stage, Ayame standing next to her.

"Erin!" I called out and she turned around and smiled at me. I grabbed Sango's hand so she could follow me and we threaded our way through the crowd until we finally reached Erin and Ayame. "Hey."

"Isn't this concert amazing!?" Ayame gushed, grinning ear to ear at me and Sango. "They're doing all of their most hype songs and I haven't stood still the _entire time." _Ayame pulled her shirt away from her chest, fanning her face. "I am _so _tired right now."

"Does this mean you forgive Kouga for earlier?"

Ayame scowled. "No. But it does mean that I really appreciate his performance and he's just going to have to be happy with that."

"Hey, you oaf!" Erin shouted at some gigantic guy who moved to stand right in front of Erin. He looked to be almost six and a half feet tall and poor Erin was only 5'1". The guy didn't hear her though as the band started up the next song. "Great! Now I can't see. Giant in front of me, can you _move!"_

"Let's just move further to the front," Ayame suggested and we all nodded our heads, following her through the crowd until we were in the cluster of girls that stood at the front of the stage. Good. This is just where I wanted to be.

Kouga held the mic. close to his mouth and started to sing. "_There might be something outside your window, but you just never know. There could be something right past the turnpike gates, but you'll just never know._" Kouga slowly started walking around the stage and he caught Ayame's eye and winked at her. I caught the lazy grin she returned so yeah, I highly doubted that Ayame would carry out her plan. "_If my velocity starts to make you sweat then just don't let go. And if the heaven ain't got a vacancy, then we just, then we just, then we just, then we just- _

"Get up and go!" Hakkaku and Inuyasha both sang into their microphones before they both stepped back from their stands while Kouga stepped up to the front of the stage during his brief break from singing.

"I said to jump!" He shouted to the crowd, jumping up and down in time with the music until the crowd got the hang of it and he stopped, nodding his head to the music instead, walking around stage for a real chance to gather his breath before he started singing. _"Ladies and gentlemen, truth is now acceptable, fame is now injectable, process the progress. This core is critical, faith is unavailable, lives become incredible now, please understand that_—"

"I can't slow down!" Ayame and Erin were singing along, jumping up and down and tossing their heads side to side. "I won't be waiting for you. I can't stop now, because I'm dancing!"

_"__This planet's ours to defend. Ain't got no time to pretend. Don't fuck around, this is our last chance!_" Kouga leaned over the front of the stage and reached out to grab a few hands as he sang. "_If my velocity starts to make you sweat, then just don't let go. Cause the emergency room got no vacancy_—"

"Then we just, then we just, then we just—" Sango, Ayame, Erin, and I, all sang together facing each other as we jumped.

"Then we just get up and go!"

"_Who they want you to be. Who they wanted to see. Kill the party with me and never go home!_"Kouga pulled his hand away from the crowd and went back to working the stage. "_Who they want you to be. Who they wanted to see. Just leave the party with me, and never go home!_"Kouga stood back at center stage, putting his mic. back on his stand as he sang. "_You're unbelievable, ah, so unbelievable. ah, you ruin everything, no, you better go home__._" Kouga patted his chest as he sang, "_I'm unbelievable, yeah. I'm undefeatable." _

"Yeah!"

_"__Let's ruin everything, blast it to the back row!_"Kouga shouted, pumping his fist and jumping in the air twice. "_They sell presentable, young and so ingestible, sterile and collectable, safe- and I can't stand it! This is a letter, my word is the berretta. The sound of my vendetta against the ones that planned it__!_"

"God, I need a break," Sango gasped for air as she stopped jumping for the first time since the song started, kneeling over so she could rest her hands on her knees. "Holy son of a gun, I'm beat!"

"You should have signed up for a gym class with me and Ayame," I told her as she breathed heavily. "You might have actually lasted the whole song."

Sango just waved me off. "I have better things to do than sweat in the middle of the day."

"_You keep eternity, give us the radio. Deploy the battery, we're taking back control. It gives the energy light up the effigy_."Kouga took the mic. back off the stand and began walking around the stage. "_No chance to take it slow, by now I'm sure you know, know, know, know, know._" Kouga started jumping on stage again and he saw Sango keeled over and he pointed at her, motioning for her to jump with his hand.

"Get up and go!"

"Uhhh_." _Sango stood back up and started hopping lazily, barely lifting her heels off the ground. "How does Kouga have the energy to sing and run around stage and hop around?"

"Talent," Ayame answered for us, smiling over her shoulder.

Sango shot me a knowing look. "I guess you're going home with Kouga tonight then."

"No!" Ayame snapped.

"Then you just don't understand what it means to hold a grudge."

"Shut up."

"INUYASHA!" The girls that now surrounded me shouted out again and though it still annoyed the hell out of me, Inuyasha finally stepped out of his music zone long enough to actually interact with the crowd and I took this to my advantage, jumping higher and waving my hands above my head so he would see me.

Inuyasha was giving his newfound groupies a half smile when he caught me waving at him and actually had to do a double take. I smiled at him and gave him a thumbs up. Unlike all those other girls I got a _full _smile.

"_Are we still having fun? Are you holding the gun? Take the money and run. We'll never go home_!" Kouga moved around the stage, doing an excellent job as the hype-man, but I kept my eyes glued to Inuyasha who looked incredibly happy and repeatedly glanced over at me.

"Do you still wish you were sitting in the back?" Sango shouted at me, obviously having caught on to Inuyasha's staring.

I rolled my eyes. "Being a groupie may have its benefits."

"Now just imagine all the wonderful things that come with _girlfriend_ status."

"Shut up," I grumbled, shoving Sango and she laughed, spinning away from me before jumping along to the music again.

-x-

"Ayame!" Kouga was the first to run up to join us at the picnic tables which we had returned to after the concert ended. He wrapped his arms around Ayame's waist from behind and kissed her neck. "Let's get going."

"Oh, I'm going home with Sango tonight." Ayame looked over her shoulder just in time to see Kouga's entire face fall. "Did I not tell you that?"

"You seem to have forgotten our tradition. You see, I do an amazing job performing on stage and that really turns you on and then we go back to my house and—"

"Well tradition should always be broken at some point in time."

"No, that's rules," Kouga corrected Ayame, finally removing his arms from around her waist. "You're supposed to _cherish _tradition."

"And you're not supposed to announce our private life to a whole crowd of frickin' strangers!" Ayame snapped at Kouga, shoving him. "I go to school with those people!"

"Miroku always says to have no shame in your game."

"Kouga!"

"Why didn't you tell me you could actually sing that well?" I asked Inuyasha when he and the twins joined us.

"I only sang three lines," Inuyasha shrugged as he slid his hands into his pockets. He looked me up and down. "Is the hoodie keeping you warm?"

"Extra cozy." I rubbed my hands up and down my arms for extra effect and Inuyasha smiled at me. "But seriously, I thought someone like you would love to brag about your singing skills along with your guitar skills. You know, since your ego is already huge and you enjoy being praised for everything."

"Please stop making me feel like I'm Kouga," Inuyasha mumbled, dragging his hand down his face. "I'm not the one who took my shirt off just for an applause."

"Because you already kissed a bunch of girls earlier this week to gain their applause."

"And we all know whose fault that is." Inuyasha smirked at me while I faked innocence. "Thanks for helping me gain my first few groupies though. It really means a lot."

"Sure."

"I'm also glad you decided you weren't too embarrassed to stand in the crowd and cheer." Inuyasha grinned at me. "You look good in the front row."

"You look better on stage," I complimented him. "And I did appreciate all those smiles you kept shooting me."

"I liked your winks."

"It's because I liked your singing."

"And I'm not liking all this flirting," Ginta mumbled under his breath. "I think my stomach's starting to churn..."

"Alright," Erin started, clapping her hands to get everyone's attention. "After-party at—"

"Ikebe's!"

"No, WacDonald's," Ginta argued, shooting down Hakkaku's suggestion. "We went to Ikebe's after the last gig."

"WacDonald's isn't even a celebration spot!" Hakkaku shot back. "We should go to a karaoke bar."

"WacDonald's has cheap food," Ginta pointed out. "More bang for our buck."

"We're going to a karaoke bar," Erin decided which meant the decision was final. "The one out by Smoothie King stays open late."

"And I get discounts at Smoothie King," Sango added. "Drinks on Miroku!"

"What?"

"To the Band Van!" Erin cheered, throwing her hand in the air before leading Ginta and Hakkaku in the direction of the parking lot while Miroku and Sango followed shortly after, bickering over Sango volunteering Miroku to pay.

"Wait for me Sango!" Ayame called out, pulling away from Kouga and he gaped after her. "I'm catching a ride with you and Miroku."

"Ayame!" Kouga called after her. "What about our deal for me to clean all that whipped cream off of you?"

"I'll take a shower!"

Kouga growled under his breath before chasing after her. "Ayame!"

"You coming?" Inuyasha asked me as he started to follow the others. "I came with the band, but I can ride with you to the karaoke bar."

"As tempting as that sounds, I have to stay behind for clean-up duty." I pointed off into the distance where Aki was gathering up the clean-up crew. Kikyo managed to blackmail me into getting out of it and Sango had won a bet earlier this week and she swapped places with some sophomore. I was unfortunate enough to be the head of clean-up duty and there was no way I could get out of it. "And I'll probably end up just going home after this to take a hot shower and sleep." I gave Inuyasha an apologetic smile. "Sing a Michael Jackson song in my absence. No, better yet, record it. Ginta and Hakkaku are really funny when they do karaoke together."

"It's not going to be the same without you."

"Kagome!" Aki was calling out to me and waving his hands above his head. "Let's hurry up and clean now so we can leave early. It's getting cold!"

"Duty calls," I told Inuyasha walking away. "Next time though," I promised. "You're going to love my rapping." Inuyasha laughed, not being able to imaging me as a rapper yet. "I'll give you your hoodie back on Monday."

"Kagome!"

"I got to go." I started jogging towards Aki and the rest of the group and I waved at Inuyasha over my shoulder. "I'll see you later!"

"I'll call you!"

"Well it took you long enough," Aki huffed when I finally joined the group. "What's the plan?"

I looked around the park which was littered with plates and napkins and soda cans and wrappers. Why did people have to be so messy?

"Divide and conquer."

-x-

_Ding dong!_

"_Achoo! _Stupid dunk tanks." I rubbed my already red nose with a piece of tissue before balling it up and tossing it in the trash on my way to get the door. Apparently, all my ex-boyfriends had better aim than I thought when it came to a dunking booth and they were the reason for my fast developing cold. "No more baseball players," I swore to myself as I reached for the knob. "_Never again_."

I opened the door and surprised myself by not being surprised to see Inuyasha, unannounced as usual.

"Hey," he greeted, stuffing his hands in his pockets and rocking back on his heels. "So… it's kind of cold out here."

"Yeah, you can come inside," I told him, rolling my eyes and Inuyasha smiled, stepping in and closing the door behind him before following me to the living room. I settled back into my spot on the couch, bringing my legs up to my chest to wrap them in the blanket I draped over my shoulders. "So what brings you to my house this time?"

"I didn't feel like going home and I don't mind hanging out with you," Inuyasha shrugged, sitting down next to me and grabbing the remote. "Am I intruding?"

"No."

Inuyasha froze. "Is your grandpa awake?"

I snorted. "No. He won't scream at you for dishonoring me tonight."

Inuyasha shook his head as he relaxed back into the couch. "Your grandpa honestly scares the shit out of me."

"Don't worry about Gramps. You can come by anytime," I assured him as he flicked through the channels. "It's nice having you around."

"Good." Inuyasha looked over at me and smiled and I felt all warm and fuzzy inside. He looked back at the T.V and a while passed between us in silence.

"So," Inuyasha said, speaking up again. "You guys had quite a turn out."

"Yeah," I agreed, pulling my blanket tighter around me. "The paper definitely won't be closing now." I looked at the T.V. "Thanks for helping out."

"With a success like that you should celebrate." We both looked away from the screen at the same time to look at the other. "You busy tomorrow?"

"Asking a day in advance are we?" I grinned at him. "I was starting to get used to you randomly showing up on my doorstep."

Inuyasha laughed and scratched the back of his head, looking down. "Yeah… So are you?"

"There's an exclusive paper staff party at Kikyo's tomorrow to celebrate, but that's in the afternoon."

"So tomorrow night, then." Inuyasha stared at me earnestly. "Are you busy then?"

"Hmm…" I tapped my chin, pretending to really think about it. "Are you good at baseball?"

"No..."

"Then I'm free." Inuyasha's brows furrowed together but I smiled widely back at him. "Seven o'clock good for you?"

"It's a date."

-x-

_Inuyasha didn't leave my house until almost three in the morning, mainly because he thought he heard Grandpa stirring in his sleep. But even after he left he was all I could think about._

-x-

_**To be honest I feel extremely guilty about my lack of updating. Sometimes I look at my stories and see how long ago it was since I updated and I just want to cry. And when people favorite stories I haven't updated in a while I feel even worse and think 'I have to write the next chapter,' but then that frustrating thing known as school work rears its ugly head and then I just go on feeling guilty. I am soooo sorry I'm a terrible person when it comes to updating—I will try harder! My schedule for next semester offers more time for writing in the mornings so I will try to force myself to go to the library and type before I get overloaded with work.**_

_**~Kimiko888~**_

_WE'RE ALIVE. This chapter was supposed to be put up ages ago but so many things came up... like school work and more school work and the occasional illness and school work. Kimiko and I are cutting the filler next chapter and jumping right back into the plot of Walking Tightropes (we're fucking pumped). As far as updates go, we can't promise anything constant, but we're still plotting and writing behind the scenes. Thanks for your constant support and understanding!_

_~hanmajo_


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